


Humility and Pride

by Strangerinmoscow01



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angels, EXO Big Bang Round 1, Fallen Angels, KaiSoo - Freeform, M/M, Minor chanbaek, Reincarnation, Romance, Seven Heavenly Virtues, Sins, minor xingdae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24743368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strangerinmoscow01/pseuds/Strangerinmoscow01
Summary: Jongin wasn't your average student and Kyungsoo knew that.written for the EXO Big Bang Event
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Comments: 20
Kudos: 40
Collections: EXO Big Bang Writing Event





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this fic, even when I almost trashed it a few times. 
> 
> Thanks to the incredible mods for being so patient and regardless of anything, we made it!  
> Enjoy!

_The best thing about the night was that they could see each other, feel each other, be with each other._

_Under the night sky, when nobody else was looking, when nobody else could judge, where nobody could find them. It was better to watch the night sky from here. They felt warm in each other’s arms, they felt like nobody could hurt them._

_Nobody could break them apart._

_They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment that felt like an eternity, connecting their lips occasionally, breathing in their happiness while they could, because things would change. They had to._

_Maybe for the better, but they didn’t know._

_The night sky soon changed as the sun brought the light. They sighed as they watched the ball of fire mark the end of their moment._

_“How long until you have to leave?”_

_“Less than an hour, it has to be done early.”_

_“Will you be alright?”_

_The white wing angel smiled, seeing the concern in the black wing angel always brought warmth to his heart._

_“I’ll be fine, I promise.”_

_And that’s a promise he swore to keep._

_They shared an embrace that felt like goodbye somehow, pulling back to stare into each other’s eyes once again. Their lips letting out the words they both had been so desperate to say. Words that express how they feel towards each other, how they’ve been feeling for a while but never dared to say._

_Just three words, eight letters._


	2. Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Did you unpack everything already? Don’t be lazy Kim Jongin.”

“ _Did you unpack everything already? Don’t be lazy Kim Jongin._ ”

Jongin let out a sigh, taking a book from the box on the floor and setting it on his bookshelf. He loved his brother, but it was at moments like this when he appreciated the distance between them. His brother almost felt like a father, and at the lack of one maybe that’s what he tried to be for him during all those years. However, Sungwoon had to understand that he wasn’t a child anymore. That he didn’t need to be protected anymore.

“I did most of the unpacking, yeah, I only have a few boxes left, but I have class, so I’ll do them once I come back,” He replied. Jongin had to run if he wanted to be there on time, starting college at a new place was never easy and he still didn’t have the route figured out, so he wanted to leave earlier.

“ _Ok, keep your phone on at all times so I can call you,_ ”

“You know I can’t answer while in class,” Jongin was tired already. “How about I call you when I get back?” He heard the sigh on his brother’s end too. He was worried and Jongin could understand it, but he had to relax.

“ _I guess that will work. How’s your birthday going so far?”_

Ah, his birthday, the one day Jongin wished was like every other. He wasn’t used to celebrating his birthday, so having classes and getting to just do normal stuff in a place where nobody knew it was his birthday sounded like a great deal to him.

“It’s going, I don’t have any plans other than coming back home and watch The Witcher for the fourth time.” Jongin shrugged, it wasn’t like he did much on his birthdays either. His brother tried, always buying a cake for him, and singing happy birthday but Jongin honestly wished he didn’t.

 _Well, it’s your eighteenth birthday, you should have fun but not too much,_ ”

Jongin chuckled, he was only going to class, there was only so much fun he could have.

“Will do, talk to you later hyung.”

They finally disconnected the call, and with a relieved sigh Jongin placed his phone back in his pocket, grabbing his stuff, putting on his shoes, and exiting the apartment he was renting. The area was relatively good, and it was near the campus, however that meant it was a little more expensive than other places. He closed the door, making sure it was locked and ran towards the stairs to go down. Seoul’s cold air surrounded him the moment he made it to the lobby. The year was just starting so that meant it would be cold for a while longer.

He couldn’t help the smile that took over his face when he was out of the building, greeting a couple of neighbors politely on his way out. It was quite a nice day, in his opinion, a little cold but a good day regardless.

And he was free.

Jongin pulled out his phone, tapping on the Google maps app, looking for the best route to get to college faster. He navigated the streets easily, following instructions as they came, and soon, he was able to see the large university of Seoul in the distance.

Jongin finally made it to the campus a few minutes later, there was sweat forming on his forehead due to the walk, despite the cold weather, but he was there on his first day. Pulling out his classes schedule, he walked around campus, asking for directions until he finally reached the appropriate classroom. The teacher wasn’t there yet because it was early still. He sat down next to a dark-haired guy who barely noticed Jongin’s entrance, he was focused on reading a book that he had carefully placed on his lap.

As a habit, Jongin tried to see the cover and see if he could recognize the book but due to the position, he couldn’t see. Jongin let it go with a sigh, pulling his phone out and scrolling down his social media to kill time before the teacher and the rest of the students arrived.

“Hi,” he suddenly heard, lifting his gaze he saw the other kid smiling at him, looked like he had finally noticed Jongin was there.

“Hey,” he nodded at him politely also with a smile. The guy had dark brown hair and big hazel eyes. His smile was easy and contagious in some way.

“My name is Minjoon. First year?” he asked, Jongin nodded and the guy seemed pleased with this information, although Jongin was sure everyone taking the class were in their first year. “Me too, what are you majoring in?”

“Literature,” Jongin responded, Minjoon gasped, a finger pointing at himself.

“Me too!” that was nice, at least he would know someone going around in his classes. “I was so afraid of everybody being mean. You know what people say about college, but you look nice.”

“Thanks?” his voice came out rather questioning, Minjoon also seemed nice, he guessed. Not all people would make such statements after knowing someone for less than five minutes. The class soon started to fill with other people, Minjoon still talking to Jongin about his experience coming from another town to Seoul to study. Jongin had a similar experience, although for him some things didn’t feel the same. He missed his brother a lot, but he felt like he was running away from something and trying to find something at the same time.

Another guy sitting behind them suddenly joined their conversation. His name was Jongwoon and he was from Seoul, he did give that city vibe Jongin expected the people from around to have. They talked for a while until the teacher finally made it into the classroom.

As expected, introducing himself and his class was the first thing the teacher did, spending one of the two hours talking about the importance of the class and why they should all pass with good grades, as if it wasn’t scary enough for a whole bunch of first-year students to adapt to a new study system, seeing so many new faces and keep up with school work and their regular life. Halfway through the speech, Jongin allowed his eyes to wander around the class, watching as the rest of the students paid attention or pretended to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. His stare landing on a guy who was looking back at him.

Usually, when catching someone staring, the other person would have the decency to look away or seem ashamed. Not this guy. He kept staring at Jongin, dark eyes and black hair, smirk hanging from his lips, and a vibe that gave Jongin goosebumps. He felt the heat rushing to his cheeks for a reason he couldn’t comprehend, not able to hold this guy’s stare any longer.

He tried to focus back on the teacher, however, the knowledge of having a guy staring at him just didn’t allow his brain to focus. His eyes kept traveling back just to see if he was still staring and he was every time. A shiver ran down Jongin’s spine and there was an odd sensation of his skin heating up. He cleared his throat uncomfortable.

“Hey, do you guys want to go grab something to eat after this?” Minjoon asked, Jongin nodded and so did Jongwoon, he wasn’t really hungry, but he appreciated the distraction of staring dude for at least a moment.

During the second hour, the teacher finally began to talk about what he was supposed to teach during that class, giving them an assignment right off the bat, on their first class. Jongin sighed as he copied the information from the slideshow presentation. When the class was finally over, they all hurried outside of the classroom. Jongwoon stretched as soon as he was outside.

“I think this will be the longest class of the semester and it’s only two hours,” he threw his bag over his shoulder, turning to the other two.

“It can’t be worse than orientation, that’s just a whole hour of class for nothing,” Minjoon mentioned. Jongin laughed.

“So… food?” maybe something to eat would lift their spirits. The other two nodded, the three of them embark on a journey outside of campus to a place nearby for something to eat. Jongin didn’t think he would find people to hang with this quickly, but he guessed it was for the better, he was a little lonely during high school, so he hoped to change that during college. Pushing the door open to a nice café, Minjoon leads them to the far end, right next to the window. They settle on that table as a waitress walks over to take their order.

“I just want black coffee,” Jongin said. Meanwhile, Minjoon gave a very detailed explanation of what needed to happen to his coffee and what needed to be in it for him to be able to drink it, Jongwoon gave her an easy order, barely looking at the menu board.

They engaged in an animated chat, Minjoon telling stories of his hometown that Jongin didn’t think were trying to be funny but unintentionally were. On the other hand, Jongwoon was that cool handsome guy next door, with an easy smile and charm to give away. It was difficult not to be immersed in whatever he was saying.

Their orders soon arrived, and they kept talking over their coffees, Jongin liked that feeling of easily making something close to friends and talk to them like normal. However, for some reason, he couldn’t shake that feeling of being watched. A quick scan around the café made him aware that nobody there was looking in their direction or seemed the slightest interested in what they were talking about.

It felt weird, and the more time passed the more he could feel it.

“Jongin?” he heard Minjoon calling his name, snapping from that trance. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he quickly assured, smiling like he always had, like everything was fine. “Everything is okay.” The other two looked at him for a second before going back to Minjoon’s story. Jongin tried his best to ignore this feeling and be present in the conversation.

In any case, it was probably nothing and he was unsettled for no reason.

That’s what he hoped it was at least.

Nothing.


	3. Weird

Jongin zipped his coat a little better, it had been raining so the morning was colder than usual. He had decided to stop by a nearby coffee shop before getting to his first class of the day. The day before he ended going home later than he thought because talking to Minjoon and Jongwoon was a fun experience and he didn’t want to let it go too soon. They had dinner also in another place and it seemed like the three of them clicked wonderfully. This made Jongin happy.

As always, he got a text from his brother early in the morning, just to see how his second day was going and how he was doing. Jongin replied over some breakfast. Which reminded him, he had to go grocery shopping soon also, he didn’t have much at his apartment and he didn’t want to get used to eating outside that much.

Walking into the coffee shop, he stood in line, at least three people in front of him were waiting to put in their order also. Jongin took the time to go over his social media right quickly, his favorite girl group was going to make a comeback soon, some old classmates updated a few pictures, mostly all the same stuff.

Once it was his turn, he politely asked for his coffee, giving the cashier a smile before pulling out a credit card from his wallet. He waited patiently, suddenly feeling his skin tingle, subtle goosebumps covering his arms and he just doesn’t know why. He looked around discreetly, but he didn’t find anything weird or out of place, so he just took his coffee once it was ready, plugging in his earphones and putting his playlist on while he walked the rest of the way to school.

Entering the campus, he spots Minjoon a few feet away, he smiles before catching up with him, pulling one earphone out of his ear.

“Morning Minjoon,” he greeted, Minjoon turning to his name, smiling at Jongin.

“Hey Jongin, good morning,” he changed his bag from one shoulder to the other. “Are you heading to math?” Jongin nods, the first semester is filled with general subjects, things he had just seen on his last year of high school, but he didn’t mind. “Yeah, well it’s nice if we share this one too,”

“How was the rest of the night yesterday? When I left, it seemed like you guys weren’t going home anytime soon,” Jongin smiled, remembering the two of them suggesting karaoke after they had dinner, Jongin still had to organize stuff at home, so he declined.

“Oh, it was really fun, we met with a friend of Jongwoon’s who works there apparently, you should join us next time,” Minjoon smiled, brushing his hair out of his face. Minjoon was slightly shorter than Jongin, while Jongwoon was about Jongin’s height. Minjoon mentioned it the night before, saying when they walked together, he deserved the spot in the middle as the squad leader.

They could barely be considered a squad, and he already wanted to be the leader.

“I will,” he assured as they entered the classroom, aiming for the middle, taking a seat right next to the other. The moment Jongin sat down he felt that strange sensation over again, looking over at the few students that had already made it into the class he noticed the same guy that had been staring at him the day before, staring once again. Jongin felt his breath getting stuck in his throat as he watched the other guy intently, the slow smirk that adorned the guy’s lips made Jongin shiver a little.

He wanted to look away, but he refused to lose this staring contest, his eyes glued to the other. The guy chuckled, looking at the front of the classroom when the teacher walked inside. Jongin let out the air he didn’t know he was holding, finally looking away, his heart was pounding inside his chest, it was a simple staring contest, but he felt like he just came back from war.

The teacher suddenly stepped out to answer a phone call. Jongin was taking notes when he felt a presence next to him. He looked up and there he was, this weird guy was standing next to him with a smile. Up close his eyes seemed to sparkle under the brown pupils.

“C-can I help you?” Jongin sat back on his chair as if that would give him more space. It wasn’t like the guy was standing right over him either, but he felt as if the air around him was being sucked away.

“I just wanted to introduce myself,” the guy tilted his head slightly, his eyes capturing Jongin’s. “I’m Kyungsoo,” he said, offering a hand. “You probably think I’m weird, but I want to be friends,” he said with a smile, a smile that gave Jongin goosebumps and not in a good way.

“Is that why you’ve been staring? That’s an odd way of starting a friendship,” Jongin said. Kyungsoo found this to be funny, laughing very loudly, it was an odd, twisted laugh. This was just getting weirder by the second. Other students glanced at them from their seats, great. Either way, Jongin wasn’t going to leave him hanging so he shook his hand. There was an instant electric wave that ran up Jongin’s arm when their fingers touched and made him gasp softly. “I’m Jongin,” he replied, voice a little unsteady, and the other’s smile just widened.

“Nice to meet you Jongin,” Kyungsoo’s voice was deep, yet melodic. Charming. Kyungsoo was shorter than Jongin, or at least so he thought. They stared at each other for a while when the teacher finally walked back into the classroom. Kyungsoo nodded and walked back to his seat, his eyes still on Jongin’s every move.

It was weird, there was some sort of magnet trying to pull him towards this person, something he couldn’t understand. However, Jongin resisted at all costs.

Jongin tried to focus on his class, grateful for the distraction of numbers and equations being thrown at him. When the class was finally over, Jongin gathered his stuff, putting them inside his bag slowly, avoiding having his eyes wander around the area where Kyungsoo was sitting. Smiling at something Minjoon said, but not really paying attention to him, his eyes were looking down, but his brain was at the other side of the classroom.

They walked out, even when he didn’t want his eyes scanned the student crowd, luckily not finding any signs of him. He allowed himself to breathe properly.

“Jongin,” Minjoon called, breaking Jongin’s trance.

“Huh? Sorry, did you say something?”

“Yeah, that Jongwoon is at the cafeteria, so I was thinking to stop by. Are you ok?” Minjoon patted Jongin’s shoulder slightly. Jongin smiled, scratching the back of his head, he would admit he was more than distracted for a moment there.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s do that,” he quickly agreed, so that they would move on. For some reason, he didn’t feel comfortable sharing the unsettling experience yet. They walked together to the cafeteria, quickly spotting Jongwoon with another guy, talking and smiling, he was doing big gestures with his hands, something slightly different from what he saw in him the day before, but he also had to remember he didn’t know them that well.

They sat down, Minjoon greeting the other guy cheerfully.

“Hi Jongin, this is Yunho,” Jongwoon introduced them, waving at his friend. It didn’t go unnoticed the way his eyes sparkled while doing so.

“This is who I was telling you about this morning,” Minjoon said, putting his bag to the side and sitting next to Yunho. Jongin smiled at the guy in question, greeting him politely.

“I’m Jongin, nice to meet you,” he said, Yunho had long black hair, carefully brushed back, his hair was almost reaching his shoulders, a couple of piercings and a lip ring that he kept moving around with his tongue.

“Nice to meet you too,” Yunho replied, “These guys couldn’t stop talking about how they wished you went karaoke with them last night.”

“Ah, I had things to do, but next time I’ll go for sure,” A little fun never hurt anybody.

“How about tonight?” Yunho wiggled his eyebrows suggestively with a smile. “I work at a bar part-time too, I could get you guys a discount.”

From karaoke to bar night. That was a big change.

“I’m in,” Jongwoon was quick to say, Minjoon and Jongin looked at each other for a moment, perhaps both thinking the same, before nodding also.

“Cool, Jongwoon can text you guys the address.”

“Are we going to drink on a Tuesday?” Minjoon asked. Jongin wasn’t used to these types of things, but he honestly didn’t mind. He was tired of staying home and be good every single day, his brother loved him, and he knew it after their parents died, he had to take care of Jongin at a very young age, but he was a little too strict. For once Jongin just wanted to have fun and let go.

“It’s not ideal, but why not,” Jongin shrugged.

The four of them finished setting the details of their night out, Yunho would be there already since he had to get there for his shift and Jongwoon would go earlier to keep him company in the meantime. Jongin still had to go grocery shopping after classes so he and Minjoon would meet the rest there, after ten. Minjoon, Jongwoon, and Jongin moved to their next class after that, which they also had together coincidentally. Jongin was happy to notice he didn't feel watched for the rest of the afternoon, and for that, he was thankful, also no other signs of Kyungsoo on any of his other classes of the afternoon, so he was able to spend the rest of his day in peace.

Hours later, Jongin walked into his apartment with his school bag hanging from his shoulder and the grocery bags in his arms. Putting them carefully on the kitchen counter, he soon started to organize everything. He liked to have everything in order, hating a messy space since he was a child, Jongin could not just get something and leave it just wherever. He still had to take a shower and look for whatever he was going to wear for that night.

He turned on the TV, just to have some white noise as he finished organizing his vegetables and other stuff. Folding the bags and setting them to the side, Jongin walked around the apartment, opening the curtains to his balcony as the nightlife happened in front of him. He took a deep breath, listening to how the news anchor reported about the government, Korea's tourism, and other things.

Jongin moved to his room, the apartment wasn’t the biggest in the building, but it was okay for what Jongin needed, with two bedrooms and one bathroom, a living room and kitchen with a small dining area. His favorite place, however, had to be the balcony, he enjoyed looking at Seoul's life from above. He opened the door to his closet, getting a simple white T-shirt with some ripped jeans and a jacket since it would more than likely be cold.

Should he wear a scarf? Maybe he should.

He pulled a scarf also, one that his brother had given him at least two years ago on Christmas. That just reminded him that he needed to call his brother, he took his cellphone out of his back pocket, looking for his brother's contact quickly and pressing on it to call him.

His brother picked up after two rings.

" _Hello?_ "

Jongin could hear the incessant typing, phones ringing, and the sound of printing machines in the background. Of course, his brother would still be working at this time. " _Jongin_."

"Hey, just giving you the usual check-up call," Jongin chuckled as he picked a pair of shoes, setting them carefully in front of his outfit.

" _Ah, I see. How was college today?_ " he was doing his best to sound interested, but Jongin could tell he was very distracted by his work.

"You know, the usual. I made some friends and we had lunch together today," he walked into his bathroom, now more on the mood for a bath than an actual shower, he still had time. He ran the water at a somewhat hot temperature.

" _That's nice. I'm happy for you. What's on the schedule for tonight?_ " he said that so casually like he wasn't just trying to see what Jongin was up to so he could scold him if he thought his activities were any dangerous or not important for a weekday.

"I'm going to take a bath now," Jongin tested the water, it was perfect. "After that, I'm going to have some dinner and then off to bed."

" _Good, glad to see you're being responsible,_ "

Jongin would roll his eyes.

"Ok then... I'll talk to you tomorrow; I can tell you're working so I don't want to interrupt."

" _It's fine, talk to you tomorrow,_ " with that their call was over. Jongin did not feel the slightest bit of guilt for lying to his brother, any other time he would, but right now he was just too focused on having fun. Having fun with some newly acquired friends.

Jongin took his bath, changing into the clothes he had selected right after. Since he shared accounts with his brother for the ride’s app, he had already created a new one to ask for a cab, of course, paying in cash since more than likely his brother would track his credit card movements. It was nine thirty-five when the taxi arrived, driving smoothly through the streets of Seoul. Barely ten minutes later they were in front of said bar. He paid the driver, getting out, feeling grateful for his decision to grab a scarf since the air was very chilly.

The bar was called 'The Red Cube', the letters glowing red hot on the sign as he made his way in. There were a few people scattered but he was able to locate Minjoon and Jongwoon immediately. Minjoon waving his arm so he could see them, not that he needed that. Jongin walked over greeting them quickly with a smile, as he sat down.

"Glad you could make it," Jongwoon said, gesturing the waitress to bring him a drink. Jongin smiled, taking the time to look around. The bar was decorated in all red and black, a slight cinnamon scent filling the air, along with the distinct smell of alcohol. The lights were dim, giving the place a more intimate look with a few neon signs here and there.

 _Sin free zone_ , was one of the signs closest to his table, glowing in purple above their heads. Jongin found the theme interesting.

Minjoon pointed at Yunho at the bar, an easy smile on the bartender’s face as he returned Jongin’s wave, quickly going back to work.

A drink was soon placed in front of Jongin, a half reddish half pinky drink, with a sweet scent. He took a small sip, it was indeed as sweet as he thought, gaining a little more confidence, and taking longer sips before he knew it, he had already finished the whole thing.

“Slow down there,” Minjoon laughed. “We don’t want you to be drunk too early.”

“I can hold my alcohol well,” Jongin responded, he doesn’t know why he said that because he had never taken a drop of alcohol before. Jongwoon gives him a look, eyebrows raised, but he smiles and looks down at his drink.

“If you say so,” Minjoon said, ordering a new round for the table. The place wasn’t crowded, of course, due to it being a weekday, but there were a few groups scattered around the place, laughing, and drinking as they were. The minutes went by, along with several rounds of beer and other drinks that Minjoon kept ordering. Jongin allowed himself to look around the place again, as time went by more people started to show up.

His eyes lingered over a couple sitting a few tables away, the first guy he saw had copper-black hair, tightly wrapped in a bun, a lip chain that went all the way to his ear and next to it a lip ring. He was whispering stuff into another guy’s ears, with a sly smile on his face. The other guy, with bright blonde curls, covering his head, wearing a shy smile as he heard whatever the first guy had to say. He was handsome, both were, to be honest, but there was some innocence to the blonde, that Jongin could not explain.

One of the brunette’s hands caressed its way down the blonde’s torso, disappearing under their table, while the free hand grabbed the blonde’s chin, turning his head more towards him, his eyes fixated on the blonde’s lips. Jongin thought they were going to kiss, and maybe they would’ve if the brunette didn’t suddenly turn his head to look directly into Jongin’s eyes.

A piercing stare that shook everything inside of Jongin, a fascinating pair of eyes, one black and one blue, looking back at him like he wasn’t just flirting with the blonde a second ago. He wanted to say it was the alcohol, but he couldn’t be sure. The brunette’s lips curved up in a cold smirk as he still observed Jongin, a shiver running down Jongin’s spine, trying to look away but being physically unable to. He didn’t know how many seconds passed until the guy looked away, finally releasing Jongin from what felt like a powerful spell.

Jongin was completely out of breath, his friends had not noticed luckily, but his head was spinning as a response to the lack of air maybe, the air he didn’t know was not properly going into his lungs, maybe because of the alcohol, any other reason was not acceptable for his brain.

“I’ll be right back,” Jongin stood up, the bathroom wasn’t far away, and he thought he could make it there without falling on his side. He would probably feel better after washing his face and taking a break, or so he thought. His legs weren’t cooperating, but he paid no attention to it as he made his way to the bathroom.

Luckily for him, there was only one other guy in there, he was so dizzy he felt like he could throw up any minute and doing that in front of a full bathroom would be embarrassing. Jongin approached the sink, barely acknowledging the other person next to him. He splashed his face with cold water, feeling his skin refresh instantly, a sigh escaping his lips also. His reflection in the mirror returned his stare, dark brown eyes looking back at him, out of focus, and a little dilated.

He was not feeling better and maybe he should’ve never lied about being able to hold his alcohol when in reality it was obvious, he couldn’t.

Jongin held on to the marble counter, he could still hear the water running and his head just kept spinning. He took a few deep breaths, trying to get his brain to work properly again, not liking the feeling of not being fully in control of what happened to his body. Finally, his legs gave in, falling to the cold floor, his eyes lingering on the ceiling light. The edges were blurry and darkening, maybe he was going to pass out there.

_So, this is what it feels like to be drunk._

Before his eyes closed, all Jongin saw was blonde hair.

…

Ringing. Constant ringing.

The annoying noise was about to make Jongin go insane if someone could just… shut it off then that would be great. His ears were buzzing, and he could feel the pulsating pain behind his eyes and temples increasing with the seconds that went by. He opened one eye to test the situation, immediately receiving the wrath of the morning sun, something not at all requested. Closing his eye again, Jongin turned around, burying his face against the pillow. His head was hammering him, which meant that unless he got up to get something for it, he would be suffering from it the rest of the morning.

He shifted again on his bed, lying on his side as he tried again. Opening both of his eyes this time, shielding his sight with a hand to avoid increasing the throbbing pain. Once he was able to see around, he noticed that he was inside his room. A brief scan through his memories concluded with him not knowing how he got there in the first place. He remembered the bar, his friends, the drinks, but he did not remember getting back home.

He hoped his friends didn’t have to put up with his drunk self.

He would be embarrassed if his head wasn’t trying to drill him in half already. He sat on his bed, everything seemed in order, his phone buzzing with his alarm on his bedside table, right next to a glass of water and an Advil. Jongin frowned, not even remembering grabbing this the night before for the next day. He had never been drunk but if this was what it was like, then he was a very responsible drunk. Although he wasn’t sure if there was such a thing.

Reaching over to grab the glass and the pill, he quickly noticed a sticky note attached to the crystal glass. He turned it around, the note didn’t have much on it, just a simple smiley face, however, it made Jongin’s skin crawl. He wouldn’t do that himself, no matter how drunk he was, so he could only hope for Jongwoon or Minjoon to have taken him over to his apartment and done all of this for him.

He’s trying to avoid thinking that he doesn’t remember a thing and that his friends don’t know where he lives.

It was very weird.

However, Jongin did not have time or energy to think about any of this, he had classes to attend, an empty stomach that was growling at the lack of food, and a headache that was yet to give in.

He would figure out the rest later.


	4. Destined

The trip to the school campus was more of a challenge while being hungover than Jongin initially thought. A few pain killers and coffee had somewhat done the trick to fool his brain into thinking he was okay enough to take a shower and get something to eat before heading out. He was still in a daze, but he managed to make it to his first class.

Luckily the teacher had not yet arrived, just a few other students scattered around so Jongin could just sit down and breathe, head on the desk as he remembered all the times his brother told him drinking wasn’t good and that he should not do it. He really should’ve listened. Closing his eyes, Jongin hoped the hour would pass by quickly, so he could at least take another nap in the library.

“Rough night,” he heard a voice he identified too quickly for his liking, his eyes fluttering open again, finding a known face staring back at him. Jongin sat up straight, his eyes scanning the room for a moment before going back to the figure in front of him. The guy who had been staring at him during class was just sitting there, talking to him. Jongin didn’t know what to feel. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to bite you… yet,” he said, running a quick scan of Jongin’s figure.

“Excuse me?” Jongin did not have enough energy for this, he felt a little confused, but he would surely blame the hangover for that. Why did they have to run into each other again? Should he even trust him or just run away? The dude was overall kind of creepy, his eyes were so intense like they held so much more than what anyone could think of and Jongin wasn’t sure he liked it. He wasn’t sure he hated it either.

“We meet again,” Kyungsoo said, smirk in place, exuding confidence. Of course, he was very handsome, he had attractive features. Not that Jongin was looking.

“I can see that,” Jongin replied, sighing. “Are you following me or something? Because that’s creepy.” ~~~~

“Not at all, but I think you’re interesting,” Kyungsoo leaned in a little, getting just a tiny bit closer to Jongin. He had no idea what personal space meant and that just made Jongin more uncomfortable.

“Why?” he asked and Kyungsoo just smiled in response, the way this guy smiled was made to attract people, Jongin was sure.

He doesn’t get to hear anything else from him when Minjoon sat next to them, with his bright smile, he looked better than how Jongin felt. He placed his books on the table and turned to greet Jongin, his eyes curiously glancing at the new person.

“Oh, hi!” he waved at them. “I’m Minjoon,” he offered a hand that Kyungsoo gladly accepted. “Morning Jongin.”

“Good morning,” Jongin looked back and forth between them, an unsettling feeling creeping up his stomach. Kyungsoo gave Minjoon the same smile he gave Jongin just moments ago and Jongin watched as his friend blushed in response. “Minjoon, about last night…”

“Oh, right! Are you feeling better?” Minjoon turned back to Jongin with worry in his eyes. “We thought maybe we pushed too much alcohol to you, it was so lucky that your friend was there, and he could take you home.”

_Friend?_

“My friend?” Jongin asked, frowning. He was very sure he didn’t know anyone else in the city other than Minjoon and Jongwoon. He ran a hand through his hair. “Do you remember what this person looks like?”

“Oh, he’s blond and nice… I was kind of drunk too so it’s all blurry,” Minjoon smiled apologetically. “You don’t remember him?”

Jongin shook his head. “I don’t remember much after going into the bathroom.” he did remember seeing blond hair before passing out.

“I don’t remember his name, but we’ll ask Jongwoon when we see him,” Minjoon assured. Jongin took a deep breath, whoever it was, knew where Jongin lived and had been inside his house. Luckily, there wasn’t anything missing and Jongin was unharmed but…

That was so strange.

“Sounds like you had a rough night indeed,” Kyungsoo said. Jongin avoided looking at him for the time being, he had enough on his head already.

“We went to this cool bar and had too much to drink,” Minjoon explained with a nervous laugh and Jongin wished he didn’t say anything at all.

“Well, the semester just started, so it’s cool to have fun.” Kyungsoo shrugged. Jongin could feel his eyes on him, but he just refused to turn and look. Usually, Jongin’s perception of people was right, so he would not risk it by giving in to whatever this guy wanted.

“That’s true,” Minjoon smiled as he pulled his books out of his bag. Kyungsoo and Minjoon had an animated chat for a while and in no time, it looked like he was ready to elope with the creepy guy if he asked. Jongin couldn’t blame him, the guy seemed to be somewhat charismatic for what he could hear but there was still something about him.

The teacher walked in then, getting everyone’s attention and Jongin has never been more relieved. However, that soon disappeared when he felt Kyungsoo’s eyes on him once again, not having Minjoon as a distraction anymore. Jongin took in a deep breath and tried to ignore it the best he could.

There was a sudden piece of paper landing on Jongin’s open notebook, he frowned as he opened it and all it said was…

_Can I get your number?_

Jongin finally glanced at Kyungsoo who had the most annoying smirk on his face. Jongin shook his head, scribbling down a negative reply quickly before putting it on Kyungsoo’s desk. The other didn’t say anything else but he didn’t seem discouraged either. The last thing Jongin needed right now was to get involved with anyone. He was barely starting the semester, so he wasn’t going to start anything with anyone anytime soon.

The piece of paper landed once again over Jongin’s books, he sighed, tempted to not read it at all but he was also curious, so he opened it.

_I just want to be friends :(_

There was a challenge written all over Kyungsoo’s face when Jongin looked at him again, followed by a stupid smirk that he didn’t even know what to do with. Jongin chuckled, writing down another negative response before sending it back.

He didn’t receive any notes for a while, so he finally focused on the lecture or he at least tried.

Once the class was over, Kyungsoo followed them towards the common area. Minjoon asked him a ton of questions that he answered with that stupid smile on his face, looking at him like he’s the most interesting person in the world. Jongin sighed. They sat at a table together.

“I’m texting Jongwoon to see if he’s out of class already,” Minjoon said, pulling out his phone.

Kyungsoo rested his chin on his hand as he watched Minjoon, leaning forward slightly. “Are you guys doing anything after class?”

“Maybe just hang out,” Minjoon laughed. “After last night I think we should keep it low profile.”

“I agree,” Jongin said. He wasn’t into bars or anything like that for the time being. He suddenly felt that odd shiver running down his spine. This time it could not be related to Kyungsoo, who was talking to Minjoon like everything that came out of his mouth was gold. Jongin looked around, taking a deep breath, there wasn’t anything out of place. Nobody seemed weird.

“Everything okay?” he heard Kyungsoo say, snapping him out of a trance he didn’t know he was falling into. Jongin blinked.

“Yeah,” he ran a hand through his hair. “It’s fine.”

Jongin noticed Kyungsoo looking around as well, his eyes landing on Jongin once again. None of them said anything.

“Jongwoon is on his way,” Minjoon smiled at them, unaware of their staring contest. “If Kyungsoo is going to hang with us he should walk in the middle with me.”

Kyungsoo just frowned, looking at Jongin for answers. Jongin laughed, shaking his head.

“Just do as he says,” was his only response.

They fell back into an easy conversation after that.

Everything else forgotten for now.

…

The two things that make Jongin genuinely happy were food and books. He’s known this his entire life, so the moment he allowed himself to finally visit the bookstore downtown was the first time he was genuinely happy since he moved. The store was bigger than the ones in the town he grew up in, so it took him a good thirty minutes to go over all the books in one section. He never got anything for his birthday, so he was planning to treat himself.

That was the excuse.

A few titles caught his attention, so he grabbed them placing them carefully on the basket he selected. He moved to the fantasy section, grabbing a few books about Greek mythology, and fallen angels. He scanned through the magazines as well, spotting a familiar face in between the shelves. Jongin sighed, it looked like he wouldn’t be able to get rid of this guy no matter what he did.

He stared so hard that the other more than likely felt he was being watched and returned the stare. A smile soon appearing on his lips as he closed the book he had been reading through and walked over.

“Jongin, what a lovely surprise,” Kyungsoo said with that annoying voice of him that Jongin refused to admit he liked.

“Is it a surprise?” they had to admit, at this point running into each other seemed like more than a coincidence. Jongin narrowed his eyes at him and Kyungsoo just chuckled.

“It is, but maybe it’s destiny,” Kyungsoo shrugged, following Jongin around the store.

Jongin scoffed. “You believe destiny exists?” Jongin couldn’t think of a more unsustainable concept, to believe that everything was written and that they had no control over what would happen to them was something Jongin could not conceive. It was great for romance novels, but real life didn’t work that way.

“I’ve lived through destiny several times.” the way Kyungsoo said this made Jongin turn to look at him. He thought there was something in his eyes that was genuine like he believed what he just said.

“Well, I don’t believe in that. I like to believe that I have some control over what’s going to happen to me.” Jongin shrugged, picking up another book. “It’s the same when you fall in love. Are the people that break up and suffer destined to break up and suffer?”

“Sometimes they are,”

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before Jongin cleared his throat and kept walking around the store.

“Are you doing something after this? We could go eat something,” Kyungsoo offered, and Jongin didn’t have to look at him to notice the smile in his voice.

“I’ll pass on that, but thanks anyway,” Jongin placed another book in his basket and Kyungsoo sighed.

“Come on, I’m not as bad as you seem to believe,” Kyungsoo stood between Jongin and the shelf. “If you give me a fair chance, I can prove it to you.”

Jongin took a deep breath, considering this. Maybe he hadn’t been very fair to him, but it wasn’t his fault the other decided to start a friendship by staring like a predator. This was all Jongin’s self-preservation instinct kicking in. He was alone in this city, so he had to do whatever he could to protect himself. Although if he was admitting things to himself, on a normal day Kyungsoo didn’t seem half bad.

Jongin sighed.

“Okay, one meal,” he had a knot in his stomach that he wasn’t sure was excitement or fear. “Or coffee.”

“That is all I’m asking,” Kyungsoo smiled, taking the book from Jongin’s hand, and putting it inside Jongin’s basket. “This one is really good; you should read it.”

Jongin could only hope he didn’t regret this.

…

A few hours later Jongin was laughing and he couldn’t believe it. He was laughing and the reason why he was laughing was none other than Kyungsoo.

Do Kyungsoo, as he recently found out.

They were sitting at this lovely café just a few stores away from the bookstore they were in, the bags on the seat next to them as they drank coffee, and Jongin listened to all these stories about Kyungsoo’s friends. Apparently, they were outgoing, and it seemed they cared about each other a lot. Story after story Jongin could only laugh and make comments and think that he had never been through anything similar. He had never been in such a large group of friends, and the few he was able to make during his school years had lost contact with him now that they were in college.

So Jongin only listened to him, chin resting on his hand, with a smile as Kyungsoo went on about the crazy things his friends put him through.

“They seem like a handful,” Jongin chuckled, taking a sip of his still warm coffee.

Kyungsoo nodded. Jongin could tell by his smile that he cared about them too. “They are, I’ll probably introduce you to them someday.”

“A few books and coffee and you’re already introducing me to your friends?” Jongin didn’t know why he said this, he didn’t know why it came out in a flirty tone either. Was he flirting? He wasn’t the flirty type, but his body appeared to be acting on its own.

“We’ll get to know each other more, I’m sure,” there was so much certainty in his voice. Jongin raised an eyebrow.

“Why? Because it’s destined?” Jongin teased, and he was rewarded with a laugh from the other.

“Oh, dear Jongin, if you only knew,” Kyungsoo shook his head, looking amused. His stare then got lost in the space, fixated on something over Jongin’s shoulder for a second before he cleared his throat. Kyungsoo sat back, none of them had noticed they were leaning in over the table, towards each other. “I should go, I’ll go pay for this and then I can take you home.”

There was a sudden change in his voice, it went from soft to stern in a second.

“Oh, it’s not necessary,” Jongin blushed slightly, he wasn’t sure if he had done something wrong but Kyungsoo was now frowning.

“I insist,” Kyungsoo gave him a tense smile before going over to pay for their coffees. Jongin observed him, sulking a little. What changed? They were having fun just a few minutes ago. Jongin went over their conversation in his head and he couldn’t find anything he had said that could be wrong in Kyungsoo’s eyes.

It was probably better to let it go.

Jongin sighed and grabbed his stuff when Kyungsoo walked back to their table. Kyungsoo’s features were tense, his whole body was too as they walked towards the exit.

“Is there something wrong?” Jongin asked when Kyungsoo took one of his bags to help him carry them.

“With you? No,” Kyungsoo sighed. “But I have a feeling I’ll have to explain the rest to you soon.”

Jongin frowned.

“The rest?”

“Yeah… you’ll see.”


	5. Storage Room

Jongin thought it was impossible, but he finally had a class where Kyungsoo wasn’t present. He sighed in relief just looking around the classroom and finding just unknown faces. Things had been uncomfortable after Kyungsoo took Jongin home. He kept replaying the day in his head, but he didn’t find any reasons as to why Kyungsoo would act that way.

There was no way to find out.

He pulled a book out, trying to distract himself from the weird things going on lately. However, his brain couldn’t focus on the words, re-reading the same sentence over five times before he finally decided to close the book. It bothered him; he didn’t want to admit it but after he was alone at home, he felt uneasy. He had to continuously remind himself that it wasn’t his fault.

Jongin then felt a slight tingling sensation on the back of his neck. He could somewhat now identify the feeling of being watched. However, he didn’t look up to see who it was, he was even afraid it could be Kyungsoo again just magically appearing inside the classroom. Considering how he had been following him, Jongin wouldn’t be surprised at all.

Although he didn’t think he would after yesterday.

The teacher walked into the classroom then, somehow making the sensation dissipate. Jongin tried his best to focus on class, listening to the lecture and the teacher talking about the project they would have to do for the semester, and that they would need a partner to do so. For a moment Jongin felt anxious, Minjoon and Jongwoon didn’t share this class with him either, so he would have to find someone among these strangers. He wasn’t the shy type, but this was uncomfortable.

Luckily for him, the teacher then informed he would be assigning the partners.

He let out a relieved sigh.

Jongin waited patiently until the teacher called his name. Standing up, looking around the classroom until his eyes landed on this tall guy that would be his partner. Jongin couldn’t tell much from his expression, blond hair pushed back, and uninterested eyes returning his gaze. The guy gave him a nod, and Jongin returned it, both sitting down once the teacher started to call the rest of the students.

Once class was over his project partner approached Jongin, he was way taller than him, and there was such a peaceful vibe to him, but at the same time, it made Jongin kind of uneasy.

“Hey, Jongin right? I’m Yifan,” he offered a hand that Jongin accepted almost instantly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Jongin smiled, standing up as well.

“I would like it if we could start getting settled on this right away, the sooner the better,” again the blond didn’t have much of expression when he said this but looked like he was responsible so Jongin was relieved.

“Sure, I have some time now, we can hang out at the library and decide our project.”

Yifan nodded. “Let’s do that.”

And just like that Jongin found himself walking next to Yifan towards the library. Jongin’s phone was buzzing inside his backpack, a quick look confirmed it was Kyungsoo. He finally gave in the day before while they were spending time together, but he was not in the mood, so he decided to ignore it. He didn’t have time nor energy to deal with him.

Yifan pulled out his phone as well, sending a text and then putting it back inside his pocket.

“I hope you don’t mind; I have a friend waiting for me there,” he said and Jongin shook his head with a smile.

“Oh, I don’t.”

“Are you new in the city?” Yifan turned to look at him and Jongin just blinked for a second.

“I am! How did you know?” Jongin shifted the weight of his bag a little. Yifan shrugged, the hint of a smile in his face.

“Just a hunch.”

“Is it on my face or something?” Jongin chuckled. It wasn’t like he was asked this often, but he wanted to know.

“Not really,” was Yifan’s only response and Jongin nodded.

Yifan didn’t say much else as they walked to the library, it was a nice change of pace, after spending time around people with a lot of energy, and even Kyungsoo who had a lot to say. Yifan spotted his friend sitting at one of the tables closest to the door, they sat with him.

“This is Zitao,” Yifan introduce. “Zitao this is Jongin, we’re partners for a project.”

“How exciting!” the complete opposite to his friend, Zitao gave Jongin a warm smile. He had dirty blond hair and his skin was slightly darker than Yifan’s. He appeared to be friendly. Jongin smiled back.

“Nice to meet you.”

Yifan pulled out his laptop and a notepad, going over with him what they had to do and how to divide the workload for them to get through it effectively.

Jongin was impressed with the way Yifan quickly drafted a schedule and divided the project between the two, with constant checkups just so they can see how it’s going. He of course agreed to everything because there wasn’t much he could say to that.

“If you need any help then I’ll give you my number,” Yifan wrote it down on a piece of paper, sliding it over the table towards him.

“Thanks,” was all Jongin could respond. He had just been hit with a ton of information and he didn’t know what to do with it. Jongin quickly dialed the number so Yifan could have his number as well and put the piece of paper inside his bag, he then smiled at the taller guy.

“Do you have any questions?” Yifan closed his laptop, putting it back inside his bag.

“Not at the moment, but if anything comes up, I’ll call you.”

“Be sure to use my number for anything you need,” for some reason he made it sound like he was talking about way more than just their project. Jongin didn’t want to dig into it so he nodded. Just as Jongin stood up from the table they shared, he felt an itching sensation on the back of his neck.

_Oh no._

Then there was a hand on his shoulder. As he expected, Kyungsoo was standing there in all his handsome glory. Jongin discovered that the more time he spent with the other, the more attractive he appeared. Kyungsoo had his hair pushed back carefully, his dark sparkly eyes staring at his partner and Zitao.

“I was looking for you,” Kyungsoo said, however, he did not look at Jongin once. There was so much of him that was starting to attract Jongin, his voice, his eyes, even his scent seemed to be calling Jongin. Every single alert inside his body was on, but he paid no attention to any of them. Kyungsoo finally turned to look at him and the weight of his stare made Jongin blush slightly. “We have a place to be.”

“I-I was just finishing here,” Jongin cleared his throat, not wanting anything else to come out of his mouth with that raspy voice of his.

“Sure, you were,” Kyungsoo smiled sweetly. The hand he had on Jongin’s shoulder sliding down until it reached his hand, intertwining their fingers together. They were practically strangers but for whatever reason Jongin didn’t mind.

“Remember to text me Jongin,” Yifan reminded. His face was expressionless, however, there was a certain coldness in his stare as he watched Kyungsoo’s every movement.

“I will,” Jongin smiled at the blond one last time before being pulled by Kyungsoo towards the exit. Kyungsoo’s hand was squeezing Jongin’s a little too tight as they walked towards the main street. It was almost like he was rushing out. Jongin was confused, Kyungsoo was acting weird, just coming out of nowhere after it looked like he was over him the day before. For a second as Kyungsoo dragged him away, he was second-guessing his second impression of the other. Jongin didn’t even get to say goodbye properly. “Where are we going?”

“There’s a place you need to be,” Kyungsoo replied, he was frowning. They soon reached the entrance, as Kyungsoo stopped a taxi for them.

“Does this place have a name?”

“It does, but you’ll see when we get there,” Kyungsoo opened the door for him, letting out a sigh. “Get in.”

Jongin took a deep breath, not knowing what to do. He was curious so he ended up getting inside the taxi. He didn’t know Kyungsoo very well, however, despite that he didn’t feel uneasy about the place they were heading to. It was the way Kyungsoo was acting now which regardless of not knowing each other seemed kind of out of character. Kyungsoo always had this cool expression, he was always calm and moved around like time was nothing to him.

He watched as Kyungsoo walked around the car, getting in, and closing the door a little too hard. He didn’t look in Jongin’s direction once as he told the driver where they were heading. Jongin noticed him chewing on his bottom lip.

There was nothing but silence inside the car, both sitting in the back seat looking out the windows, no music was playing which made the situation a bit more tense for them.

“When did you meet him?” Kyungsoo suddenly asked. Jongin frowned not fully understanding the question.

“Who?”

“The guy you were with Jongin,” Kyungsoo sighed. “The dude at the library.”

“Oh,” Jongin’s eyes widened. “We just met today in class; we are doing a project together.” he didn’t know why he was giving Kyungsoo so many details, it wasn’t like he owed him any explanation. Kyungsoo hummed in response, Jongin couldn’t tell what he was thinking from his expression. “Why do you care?”

“I don’t.”

“Then why are you asking?”

Kyungsoo sighed once again, finally glancing at Jongin for the first time since they left the library. “I was just curious.”

Jongin didn’t believe that at all.

“That’s bullshit but okay,” he crossed his arms over his chest, deciding to ignore Kyungsoo for now. The way he acted sometimes was so weird to Jongin. He couldn’t figure out what he was thinking or feeling, and out of that flirty façade, he could never tell, and that frustrated him a lot. None of them said anything else until the driver parked in front of a closed bar. It was still early afternoon so that was probably the reason why it was still closed.

Jongin got out of the car, noticing the place felt awfully familiar to him. It took him some time to finally realize that this was the place he went out to with his friends the night he can barely remember. There are goosebumps on his skin and a shiver running down his spine as he feels Kyungsoo’s presence next to him.

“What are we doing here?” Jongin asked him, he had both a good and a bad feeling about this. Kyungsoo smiled, wrapping an arm around Jongin’s shoulders.

“You’ll see,” he said. “Follow me.”

Despite part of his body alerting him against it, Jongin still followed Kyungsoo into the bar. They walked through the empty tables and the bar area. The neon lights were off and the shelves where the bottles were displayed were now empty. Soon Kyungsoo reached a door, walking into some sort of storage room with several boxes of liquor and other stuff for the bar. Jongin looked around confused. Was it okay for them to be there? Kyungsoo walked in like it didn’t matter so he assumed it was.

On the far end of the storage room, there was another door, a door Kyungsoo needed a key to open. He looked over his shoulder at Jongin for a second before pulling a key out of his pocket and opening the door. Jongin frowned, he didn’t like this situation not even one bit, if his brother ever found out Jongin had been in a place like this he would make him go back home.

The door finally opened, Kyungsoo pushed the door followed by a cracking sound of the wood giving in under his hand. It looked like that door hadn’t been used in ages, so why was Kyungsoo opening it now? He took a few steps in, Jongin couldn’t see past Kyungsoo and his common sense finally started to kick in.

“I’m not sure I want to follow you anymore,” he said, taking a step back. Being alone in a dark room with a person he barely knew was a recipe for disaster. He could be drugged or killed, or God knows what else, he wouldn’t risk it.

“I promise there’s nothing bad here, I’m not going to hurt you,” Kyungsoo said, and somehow, even with how crazy and suspicious this was, Jongin felt like he was telling the truth, like some sort of epiphany feeling inside of him like he knew this was true. With just one look into Kyungsoo’s eyes, Jongin believed him. If that was good or bad, he was about to find out. Jongin took a deep breath. Would he be crazy enough to go in with him? His brain was telling him to just run away and call the cops or something. “Jongin, it’s okay.” Kyungsoo offered a hand, a playful smile curving his lips, and his weird eyes attached to Jongin’s.

Jongin sighed, taking Kyungsoo’s hand and following right behind him. It was like his body was ignoring everything his brain had to say and decided to do this on its own. Turned out past the door there were some stairs, leading to a basement. By the look of this place, Jongin wouldn’t believe there was a basement anywhere.

They walked downstairs, he could barely see anything, so he tightened his grip around Kyungsoo’s hand, not noticing the smile on the other’s face. They finally reached the basement, it looked like some sort of living room, there was a flat screen tv on a wall to the left with a few old couches in front of it. A coffee table in the middle with a few magazines and books on top of it. To the other side, there were just a few more couches and a minibar with a few empty glasses on top of it. There was a dark hall leading somewhere Jongin could only imagine.

“Oh, you guys are here,” a low voice said right in Jongin’s ear, he turned around to find another guy. Someone that looked rather familiar but that Jongin knew he had never seen at the same time.

 _How_?

Kyungsoo smiled, pulling Jongin towards him. “I brought him as you guys requested.”

Jongin’s eyes widened at this, he was sure he didn’t know this guy, so why would he want to see him. Also, were there more people here?

“Good, we’ll do it here,” The guy glanced at Jongin, one corner of his lips lifting into a half-smile. He then did a full scan on Jongin’s body, his eyes sparkling just like Kyungsoo’s.

Jongin was going to die.

He was sure of it, they were going to kill him and sell his organs on the black market just because of his stupidity.

“I haven’t explained anything to him yet,” Kyungsoo mentioned and the other guy groaned in response.

“You should’ve done that before bringing him here,” he looked completely unimpressed, a sigh escaping his lips.

“I figured Junmyeon Hyung would do it,” Kyungsoo shrugged. “He’s good at telling this story.”

“Whatever then, I’ll tell the others.”

Of course, there were others. Jongin started to tremble, his breathing picking up as he realized he was probably in trouble. It was stupid of him to believe a person he had known for a few days. Kyungsoo noticed Jongin’s discomfort and smiled at him.

“Relax, as I said we’re not going to hurt you.” Kyungsoo ruffled Jongin’s hair and ended with his hand being slapped away by the other. “Can we get Baekhyun here or someone?”

The other guy nodded, walking down the dark hall. They stood there waiting for something to happen when another person came out of the hall. He was blonde, his fluffy hair falling over his forehead, giving him a more innocent look. His eyes sparkled like the other two, but his smile felt way welcoming and warm than the other guy or even Kyungsoo’s. He made his way towards Jongin, one step at a time, not rushing it. He was smiling at Jongin like they had been friends since forever.

The blond guy offered a hand.

“Hi, my name is Baekhyun,” he greeted, his smile not fading one bit. “Has Kyungsoo been treating you nicely? I’ll get him in trouble if he hasn’t.” Jongin was suddenly filled with a warm feeling, he felt like he was okay, like he was _calmed_. He let go of Kyungsoo’s hand to shake Baekhyun’s.

“Of course I have, he wouldn’t come here on his own if I didn’t.”

“I guess that’s true.” Baekhyun patted Kyungsoo’s shoulder and pulled Jongin towards one of the couches. “Are you hungry Jongin? Do you want to drink anything?”

“How do you know my name?” Jongin frowned, pulling his hand back.

“Kyungsoo has been talking to us about you, I hope you don’t mind,” Baekhyun’s presence was so warm and embracing, it made Jongin feel so calm, even when he was trying to keep his alarms on, it was like he did not have any other choice but to feel calm.

“I don’t,” was all Jongin could answer. He relaxed against the couch and Baekhyun gave Kyungsoo a look. Kyungsoo left them alone, walking down the hall.

“Don’t worry too much, we’re not going to hurt you,” Baekhyun patted Jongin’s knee. “Let’s just wait for the rest to be here and we’ll talk properly.”

Jongin nodded because he honestly didn’t know what else he could do. Soon more people started to appear, there were at least eight people in there with Jongin and there was a rush of _something_ swimming through his skin and veins. His body was reacting to these people in different ways and he didn’t know if he liked it. His eyes scanned each of them, some of them looked normal, while the rest looked like people you shouldn’t mess around with.

One of them took a step towards them and Jongin grabbed Baekhyun’s hand as a reflex. The guy was maybe as tall as Baekhyun, he was wearing high waist dark pants and a vest only over his toned chest with a golden chain hanging from his neck. He had the deepest eyes Jongin had ever seen in his entire life, but not in a good way, they looked… empty.

Baekhyun placed a hand over Jongin’s letting him know everything was okay and for some reason he kind of believed him. A quick look at Kyungsoo told Jongin he wouldn’t get any help from him either. The redhaired finished closing the space between them, standing right in front of him with a raised eyebrow.

“My name is Junmyeon,” the redhaired smiled, but it was too sinister to Jongin’s liking. “I know you’re probably wondering what you’re doing here, but before we get to that let’s do some presentations and there’s a little story you need to hear.”

Jongin frowned. A _story_? What kind of story could he possibly hear from these people? Why were they all just staring at him like that? Like they were expecting him to recognize them?

“You already know Kyungsoo and Baekhyun,” The redhaired, Junmyeon, continued. “That’s Jongdae,” he pointed at the guy that had greeted them earlier, he was now wearing a double chain attached from his lips to his right ear and his hair was tied up in a bun. He sort of looked familiar. “Chanyeol,” he said pointing at the tallest one among them, the guy did not look happy seeing him, he had pink hair and there was too much leather covering his body. “Yixing and Minseok,” Junmyeon pointed at the other two blonds standing in the corner, they both waved and smiled at Jongin. “And Sehun,” this last one was the one standing the farthest from him so Jongin could barely make anything out of his expression, coal-black hair, his face looked bruised, but he wasn’t sure.

“Hi,” Jongin said, not knowing if he should say anything else. The rest of them didn’t say anything.

“Now, listen carefully… this story is long, and I don’t have all day.” Junmyeon sat right in front of them, crossing his legs. Jongin couldn’t tell if it was his imagination but it appeared as if his hair had suddenly turned into _horns_.

Jongin held his breath for whatever was about to happen.


	6. Story

_From the beginning of time, when it was too early to keep records of it, the sky had peace._

_This peace lasted long years until one angel grew curious about other realms away from the sky. Driving a group of other angels into his curiosity and defying the authority of a higher power, they were exiled to a different realm, causing a constant war between them._

_The angels that remained in heaven had a long fight against the fallen angels, a fight that seemed to have no end. Heaven’s angels each represented a virtue, meanwhile the fallen angels, because of their betrayal each represented a sin. Both sides as stubborn as the other, none of them wanting to let it go._

_When it seemed like their powers weren’t enough to fight against each other, both sides went to earth, having children with humans that would carry on their legacy and continue their war. The children of the virtues and the children of the sins continued their war for years, battling each other brutally, white wings against black wings, looking to end each other for good._

_However, these children were not only the perfect image of their parent angels, but they also had a soul, realizing they were being used on a senseless war they started rebelling against their creators and going into hiding on earth._

_The angels of course weren’t happy about this, hunting down their children and subjugating them. The ones that surrendered went back with them to be punished for their sins, the ones that refused then were either killed or cursed by both sides._

_They all knew there wasn’t a place on earth where they wouldn’t be found, however, a small amount managed to scatter over the lands, hiding their powers and living their life, afraid to be found and knowing they would be._

_Waiting for the moment when they would have to fight again._

Jongin blinked, looking at Junmyeon like he had no clue of anything he had just said. To be honest he had no idea why any of that was relevant to him and the reason why he had to tell him all of that. Junmyeon noticed Jongin was lost and smirked, standing up from his place, his empty eyes locked on Jongin’s.

“I’m telling you this because that’s information you need for what’s going to happen next,” Junmyeon kneeled in front of Jongin. There was a disturbing feeling of need inside of Jongin, he didn’t know what he needed but he needed it all.

“What’s about to happen next?” Jongin’s voice was surprisingly steady, considering how confused and anxious he felt.

“You’ll be one of us,” Junmyeon’s smile widened, almost breaking his face in half. Jongin sat back, trying to put some space between them. Baekhyun was still holding his hand, trying to help him calm. Jongin turned his head and the rest of them were gone, nobody was there. He never heard them leave.

How was that possible?

“You already are one of us,” Junmyeon said again, his eyes suddenly changing colors to a bright blue. Jongin was terrified but he couldn’t look away. How the fuck did he do that? Why couldn’t he just stand up and leave? There was some strange force keeping him down as he looked into Junmyeon’s eyes for longer than he would’ve wanted to.

Then there was a sharp pain running down Jongin’s body. He tightened his grip on Baekhyun’s hand not knowing what was going on. The air was knocked out of his lungs, his fingers were numb, and his entire body was trembling. Jongin was so scared, he wanted to scream but nothing was coming out of his lips.

Then that’s when he started to see it.

The images… _flashbacks_ , of another time.

Another place.

He saw… _angels_? Fighting against each other, some had white wings some had black wings. He felt desperation as they were flying down to earth, they were trying to hide. Some were murdered on the spot.

It was Junmyeon’s story.

Jongin saw himself, although it didn’t look like him completely. He looked like them, like an angel, but he couldn’t identify to which side he belonged to. He was holding someone’s hand, it was warm. That person, an angel, kissed him, and then he was gone.

Everything was gone.

And Jongin felt no more pain.

He took a deep breath, staring at the ceiling of the poorly illuminated living room. His hand was still being held, his vision was blurry, and he didn’t understand what just happened. The few flashbacks he got were not enough to explain what had just happened to him. Jongin’s body felt too weak to move like his energy had been drained completely out of him.

He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think…

“Did it work?”

Jongin heard a voice say next to him, it was soft and calmed so he assumed it was Baekhyun.

“Only halfway, I don’t know if we’re going to need to do it again or if the rest will come on its own,” Junmyeon said. Baekhyun helped Jongin sit properly and then he was suddenly surrounded by the rest of them, looking at him curiously. “He didn’t get all of his memories back, but let’s give him a few days… I don’t want him to pass out.”

Baekhyun nodded, letting out a sigh. “He’s going to need someone to be around him in the meantime.”

“You and Sehun can do it,” Junmyeon waved it off, looking over his shoulder. “Do you have any issues with that?”

“I don’t,” Sehun said, Jongin thought he saw him smile.

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

Nobody said anything then.

“Okay then, should we take him back or let him sleep here?” Baekhyun brushed Jongin’s hair back softly. For some reason Jongin was more and more tired each time, his eyes were closing, and his body wasn’t responding to him anyways. Jongin felt himself slipping away, not able to recognize who was saying what anymore.

“I’ll take him back.”

“Be careful with what you do.”

“I’m watching you.”

…

When Jongin woke up there’s no light coming into his room, he doesn’t know what time of the day it is or for how long he has been sleeping. He stretched, reaching out for his phone, it was already seven PM. He felt very confused, he had been sleeping for so long. Jongin also noticed a few missed calls from his brother so he would have to return those before his brother sent a whole army to check on him.

He was also hungry.

Jongin was sitting on his bed when he finally remembered everything that happened that day, his brain going over everything that he saw and was told and how impossible everything was. It had to be a dream. Right? It had to be, he slept for so long that he was starting to have weird dreams about strange angels and demons or whatever.

It had to be a dream.

Deciding on that, Jongin stood up, his legs could barely hold him as he made his way out of his room and into the living room, his body felt kind of numb. It was that odd sensation you get after your body goes through intense pain. He massaged his left shoulder when he suddenly noticed a smell in his apartment. It was like his senses were all over the place.

Was he getting sick?

Jongin glanced over to the kitchen to find a tall, black-haired guy and another blond guy making food. _Sehun and… Baekhyun?_ The fact that this came to his head so fast made him worry. Jongin didn’t like what he was seeing at all. Their presence in his kitchen made him feel uneasy. He walked over, standing by the door.

He froze in his place for a few minutes until Baekhyun noticed him, a bright smile growing on his lips as he put a bowl down.

“Jongin! You’re awake!” he walked over to Jongin, pulling him in towards where the other was making dinner. “I hope you don’t mind; we’re making dinner for you.”

“He shouldn’t, I’m a great cook,” Sehun said with a half-smile.

“You’re okay… Kyungsoo is a great cook,” Baekhyun replied, making Sehun scoff. “Sehun’s pasta is really good, you’ll see.”

Jongin was so confused, however, at the same time, there was a calming aura taking over him. He felt like it was going to be okay. So, everything that he had seen was real? He refused to believe such a thing. It couldn’t be.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Baekhyun said, rubbing Jongin’s arm to provide some comfort. “What you saw was real.”

Jongin frowned, shaking his head. “It can’t be.”

“It is…” Baekhyun let out a sigh. He knew it would be hard to get Jongin to accept it. “You’re one of us Jongin.”

“No!” Jongin pulled away from him, putting some distance between them. He felt Baekhyun could kind of influence his feelings and he didn’t want that. He wanted to be able to think by himself and feel what he needed to feel.

“Jongin, do you remember what you saw? The visions…” Baekhyun’s voice was low and careful. Jongin took a deep breath thinking of what happened that day. The flashbacks of himself as an angel, kissing someone.

“I…”

“You were kind of like our leader, as a virtue you helped us escape,” Baekhyun smiled, but it was sad this time.

“That’s why he got the worse end of it,” Sehun mumbled.

“Sehun!” Baekhyun gave him a look, but it didn’t matter since Jongin could not understand what they were talking about. He got the worse end of what? “We’ve been living on earth for centuries now, away from angels and our purpose.”

“If that is true then why don’t I remember anything?” Jongin narrows his eyes. He didn’t sign up to be a part of some strange fantasy story that these guys were trying to make.

“That’s…” Baekhyun glanced at Sehun before proceeding. “It’s part of your curse, remember the story? We were cursed when we came to earth. You’re supposed to die and reincarnate, so your memories are taken away. Sometimes you get them and your powers back before it happens but there are times where we don’t make it in time to help you.”

“I die?”

“They always find you, that’s why we can’t leave you alone Jongin…” Baekhyun sighed. “If we do, you’re in danger.”

“But… if I reincarnate every time that means you guys haven’t been able to stop it.” Jongin frowned. He didn’t like this not one bit.

“Doesn’t mean we won’t keep trying,” Sehun said, his gaze still focused on the pasta he was preparing. Both had a very gloomy expression then, there was a huge weight on his heart as he saw the regret and sorrow in their eyes.

“We had to watch you die every time,” Baekhyun’s gaze was lost in his memories. “It’s harder on some of us than others.” he then smiled, as if they weren’t just discussing Jongin’s death.

“If we can get your powers to wake up on time, maybe we will have a chance.” Sehun turned off the oven, serving the food on three plates. “For now, we should eat.”

“Are you guys cursed too?” Jongin asked. He was telling himself he didn’t fully believe their story and he was just curious about what they had to say.

“We are,” Baekhyun was already halfway through his plate, Jongin wasn’t even sure that he was chewing properly. Sehun was quiet so Jongin guessed he wasn’t willing to say much about it.

Jongin sat down next to them, starting to eat since his stomach was already complaining because of the smell. “Let’s say I believe you guys…”

“You need more proof?” Sehun asked. Jongin shrugged, this was too much of a story for him to just buy it on the first try.

“Do you want to see my wings?” Baekhyun asked, putting his fork down. Sehun shot a glare at him.

“Baekhyun…”

“It will just be a minute, I will put them away, don’t worry,” Baekhyun turned to face Jongin. “Do you?”

Jongin nodded, because well… what probabilities were there for the blond to just pull wings out of his ass like that. He would be surprised, and he was when suddenly there were two bright white wings attached to Baekhyun’s back. He couldn’t stop staring at them, they looked so real.

That’s impossible.

But they had to be because otherwise how…?

How would anyone grow wings like that? Baekhyun’s eyes also turned bright blue, almost sparkling as he smiled. So that’s why Kyungsoo’s eyes always seemed odd.

“Baekhyun put them away,” Sehun muttered, he didn’t look impressed or the slightest happy about this.

Baekhyun sighed, and then his wings just disappeared. They _poofed_ out of thin air like they were never there. Jongin’s eyes were wide open as he stared at the space, his jaw was on the ground as his brain processed what had just happened. Jongin let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

A freaking angel!

“I can’t keep them up for long or they will track my energy,” Baekhyun gave Jongin an apologetic smile.

“You’re an angel?” Jongin’s gaze couldn’t focus and he was out of breath. What the heck had just happened? What did he just see? This couldn’t be. Jongin took a step back, just… away from _them_ and whatever they were.

“Jongin…” Baekhyun tried to reach out for him but Jongin just kept going further away. He was trying to tell himself that he didn’t see what he just saw. It was all an illusion, it had to be fake.

“We’re not angels, we’re like a watered-down version… just so we could fight their battles.” Sehun growled going back to his meal.

“We have wings for that same purpose and also, we inherit their virtues and their sins accordingly,” Baekhyun shrugged, turning back to his plate as well. “My virtue is patience and Sehun’s sin is adultery.”

Jongin raised an eyebrow. “So that means you’re unfaithful in your relationships?”

Sehun then chuckled, shaking his head. “That means I make other people unfaithful… sometimes with me,” he smirked.

“And that’s why you’re destined to be alone forever.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

“It’s not my fault people are just attracted to me,” Sehun shrugged.

“It kind of is,” Baekhyun said. “Even when there’s someone clearly in love with you,” Sehun didn’t respond, just frowning at his dinner.

“So, what was my virtue or sin?” Jongin sighed, walking back to sit on a stool and starting to eat again as well. He didn’t know if there was a good or bad side to this situation, but part of him preferred to be a virtue. If any of that happened to be true of course. He still had his doubts.

Baekhyun smiled, his gaze going back to his plate. Sehun didn’t say anything. “You’ll find out.”

None of them said anything else after that, Jongin wasn’t sure he was buying any of this, but he couldn’t deny what his eyes saw and what he _remembered_. He decided he would hang around until he figured out what was really going on and then he would make a proper decision.

Whatever that might be.


	7. Attack

Jongin finished getting ready for his first class of the day. After dinner, he called his brother, which didn’t go as smoothly as he would’ve liked but it went. Sehun and Baekhyun crashed his couch and Jongin was most of the night up thinking it wasn’t a good idea. However, if they were going to do something to him, they had plenty of time to. They left in the morning, promising to be back to walk him to school. Although he was supposed to meet with Minjoon at a café before class. When he explained this, they said they would still walk with him.

He didn’t know why he needed to be walked to school or any other place, but it was whatever at this point.

Taking his coat and his bag, Jongin left his apartment. There were no signs of Sehun or Baekhyun on the halls, so he didn’t know if he should wait for them even though that might make him late or just leave. Jongin sighed, this was ridiculous, he could perfectly walk a few streets on his own. 

Walking out of the building he finally noticed a familiar figure waiting on the sidewalk. Kyungsoo was there, looking at him with that half-smile on his face. Jongin shook his head as he made his way towards him. It was cold and Kyungsoo was barely wearing a sweater.

Was he never cold? Was that something that came with being an angel or whatever it was?

“So, you’re here,” Jongin said as he got closer, Kyungsoo chuckled scanning his body.

“Of course I am, and looks like I was right,” he said, pulling a scarf out of his bag. “Wear this, it’s going to be very cold today.”

“But you’re not wearing much,” Jongin frowned at this.

“I don’t need much, but you do. Put it on,” Kyungsoo took a step closer, wrapping the scarf around Jongin’s neck carefully. For a strange reason, Jongin’s heart started picking up its pace, kind of expecting Kyungsoo’s fingers to touch him but hoping they didn’t. It felt like time froze between them as their eyes connected, and for a second, the moment felt like much more. Once he was done, Kyungsoo cleared his throat and started to walk down the street without checking if Jongin was following him or not. Jongin sighed, adjusting his bag over his shoulder. It was better to be safe than sorry.

“Wait… what do you mean you were right?” Jongin asked, catching up to Kyungsoo and the other just smiled in response. Jongin hated not getting straight answers, but with the little that he knew of the short man walking next to him, he was aware that he would not get much more than that.

They walked in silence until they were in front of the café, it was a lovely place near campus. The smell of coffee alone did wonders to finish waking Jongin up. Kyungsoo sat next to him, their shoulders touching and for whatever reason, Jongin was very aware of it.

“Hi Jongin,” Minjoon greeted when he arrived, sitting down across from them. “Hey, Kyungsoo!” There was a soft blush covering his cheeks, making Jongin chuckle, looked like he wasn’t the only one affected by Kyungsoo’s aura, or energy or whatever.

“Minjoon! How are you?” Jongin smiled, ignoring the way Kyungsoo leaned forward over the table, smiling at Minjoon.

“I’m good! I spent my whole day yesterday procrastinating and now I’m regretting it. I also saw Jongwoon on the way here, he said he wants to meet today for dinner and some drinks… are you guys in?”

Jongin was about to say he something when Kyungsoo interrupted.

“We can go to this bar, the red cube, I heard the food is good there,” he said. Jongin scoffed almost rolling his eyes at this.

“Oh, I like that place, and Yunho works there,” Minjoon smiled brightly at Kyungsoo, of course not noticing a thing. “I’ll tell Jongwoon. Let’s just not go as crazy as last time.” Minjoon pulled out his phone to text their other friend, sending Jongin a look. 

Jongin sighed, giving Kyungsoo a look which he ignored. After that the waiter arrived, giving all three of them a menu. They ordered their coffees to go so they wouldn’t be late for their first class of the day. 

Jongin wasn’t sure if it was completely okay for Kyungsoo to be with him everywhere he went, going to all of his classes and even sitting with them during lunch. Jongwoon and Minjoon both couldn’t stop blushing all the time they were there too, and Jongin just figured it was part of Kyungsoo’s influence on people. He was attractive to people, and he noticed it happened more intensely the closer they were to him.

Was Jongin immune to this?

He had no comments on that.

After classes were over, the group agreed to reunite at the bar to have their night out. Jongwoon mentioned Yunho would be there too but Jongin wasn’t sure if it was as a bartender or a friend. Kyungsoo dropped Jongin off at his apartment and left with the excuse that he had to do something and would send Baekhyun to watch over him instead.

Jongin insisted that he didn’t need a babysitter.

Kyungsoo ignored him.

But looking at the bright side, Jongin now had some time to himself. He called his brother to check-in for the day, took a shower, and checked his social media for a while. It wasn’t until around eight when he heard the doorbell, he had been a whole hour by himself and he thought Baekhyun wasn’t going to make it anyways. 

It looks like he did.

“Coming!” Jongin announced, putting his phone inside his pocket before going over to open the door. In front of him, there was someone about his height, blond hair coming out of a hoodie, his face covered with a mask. It took Jongin a second to understand this was not Baekhyun and something was wrong.

One moment that felt like forever they were standing in front of each other and the next there was a hand squeezing the life out of Jongin’s throat. He was gasping for air when this person just pushed him against a wall. Jongin’s brain was trying to process this situation quickly, otherwise, his lungs would run out of air and he would die.

Jongin was not about to die here.

Touching around, Jongin started to feel his lungs burning at the lack of air, his sight turning blurry. He finally reached a vase that was set as decoration near the door, smashing it into this person’s head. He was released immediately and Jongin wasted no time in running away from him. He had two options: locking himself inside one of the rooms or running to the kitchen where all the potential weapons were.

Jongin ran for the kitchen, grabbing the first thing that he could find which happened to be a frying pan.

He would work with what he had. 

Looking up he couldn’t see the intruder, he was trying hard to get some air through his body, adrenaline rising on his veins. He slowly made his way around the kitchen counter, the intruder couldn’t just disappear out of thin air, right? They had to be around there somewhere. Jongin held the pan against his chest, fear filling every bone in his body. Why was this happening? What was going on?

He was pushed to the floor and suddenly he had another body on top of him. How the fuck did the intruder move so fast to be behind him? It just wasn’t possible at all. The perpetrator went back to his choking mission. Jongin was trying to push him away, holding on to the frying pan he smashed it against this person’s head… repeatedly.

Nothing happened.

The burning feeling on his lungs was back, he pushed and pushed and tried to move around, tried to set himself free. Nothing was working, it was like this person had some sort of monumental strength as they pressed down on him. Jongin went for the face, pushing it away as a last resort.

“Stay away from me,” he whispered, his voice broken and weak due to the lack of air. Suddenly there was a white light, so bright that he had to close his eyes, it was warm and comforting. He heard the intruder scream and step back releasing him. Jongin coughed, trying to crawl his way away from the perpetrator with the little strength he had left, filling his lungs greedily with air in the process.

He had no strength to escape anymore. Was this it? Was he going to die here?

Jongin struggled to pull himself up in a sitting position on the floor, he had been expecting the intruder to start strangling him again, he looked up and what he saw sent a shiver down his spine, his skin filling up with goosebumps.

He would’ve gasped in shock if he wasn’t already gasping for air.

There were… two angels in his living room. White wings against black wings as somebody else kicked his intruder’s ass. He couldn’t tell who it was, but this new person was shorter than Sehun so it couldn’t be him. So, maybe Baekhyun? Which one was he again?

Jongin considered the idea of his brain being hallucinating at the lack of oxygen, but at the same time, he was sure that what his eyes were witnessing was very real. The black wing angel, or demon, or whatever kicked the other out of Jongin’s apartment. He heard some more struggle outside before he came back in, walking straight towards Jongin.

There was still fear in him, so he immediately pushed back when the angel tried to reach for him.

“It’s okay… I’m not going to hurt you,” he said in that voice so deep and melodic that Jongin knew well, he could only stare at him. It felt so familiar yet something he could not recognize, the feeling of having lived this before. “It’s Kyungsoo, it’s just me.”

Jongin nodded slightly. He tried to speak but it all came out hoarse and broken. Tears starting to roll down his cheeks, he was still out of it, and his voice was a mess but that didn’t stop him from sobbing. “Kyungsoo?”

“Yeah, It’s me… I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo ran a hand through Jongin’s hair, his eyes filled with worry. “I’m so sorry.”

“I opened the door… I thought it was Baekhyun,” Jongin tried to get the words out but with the sobbing and his raspy voice, he doubted Kyungsoo could understand a thing.

“I know, it’s okay. Don’t force yourself, let’s go back to the bar and one of the guys will help you,” Kyungsoo offered a hand, his bright blue eyes slowly fading to black and his wings disappearing. He just saved him, he saved him from getting strangled to death. Jongin had to start believing that maybe they weren’t going to hurt him after all if he wanted him dead, he would’ve just let the intruder finish the job.

Jongin took a few deep breaths before taking his hand. The apartment was a mess but there was nothing he could do about it now. Kyungsoo’s hand was also warm and comforting, and familiar to him in a way he hadn’t experienced before.

_Why?_

“You’re going to be fine,” the other reassured Jongin in a low voice, although it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself. He helped Jongin stand up effortlessly, but of course, someone that could kick a virtue’s ass had no issue lifting someone like Jongin. He didn’t know if the goosebumps on his skin were because of what had just happened to him or if it was because of the way Kyungsoo was holding him.

“Thank you,” Jongin said with his broken voice, and all he got was a stare from his savior.

A stare that had so much yearning in it. A stare Jongin felt he saw before somewhere, a long time ago and at the same time so new to him.

It was that feeling of déjà vu that was so unsettling, and he couldn’t stop his brain from trying to gather memories he didn’t have.

The only thing that came to his mind was that flashback he got of himself being an angel.

And a kiss.


	8. Information

The ride to the bar was done in complete silence, except the few notifications and occasional texting Kyungsoo was doing. Jongin was looking out the window, letting his body rest against the seat. He had no energy left inside, nothing to hold on to except for the man next to him. The taxi pulled up in front of the bar and being dark already people were chatting and drinking inside.

Jongin suddenly remembered he had to meet his friends, but he didn’t want them to see him like this. His voice was a mess and he was sure his neck looked like an art piece.

Kyungsoo paid for the taxi, getting out and helping Jongin do the same. They walked towards the entrance but Jongin stopped a few feet away, glancing at the shorter man with worry. He thought Kyungsoo got the hint because he sighed, grabbing his hand. He pulled Jongin away from the main entrance. Jongin felt a tingling sensation crawling up his arm, a feeling he ignored for now.

They reached the back of the bar, to a door that possibly led to that storage room Jongin had been in before. Kyungsoo was still holding Jongin’s hand when he opened it and pulled him inside. It was indeed the storage room; they didn’t waste any time getting to the basement. Kyungsoo made him sit on one of the couches and a few seconds later they were no longer alone.

“So, what happened?” the redhaired guy questioned as he stood next to Kyungsoo. Jongin forgot his name.

“He was attacked, I have reasons to believe it was one of them,” Kyungsoo replied. What did he mean with one of them?

“Fuck,” the redhaired sighed, looking away for a moment. “So, they found him.”

“They did, I don’t know how, but we can’t leave him alone anymore,” Kyungsoo ran a hand through his hair. “Also, Hyung, where’s Yixing?”

“I’ll send him over. Try to get in contact with Sehun and Baekhyun, I want them here now,” the redhaired left looking terribly upset, leaving Jongin alone with Kyungsoo again. The other sat beside him and sighed as he examined Jongin’s bruised neck.

“Yixing has healing powers, he will be able to help you,” Kyungsoo said. Jongin wanted to thank him, but he was sure his voice would not help him to get any words out. If this Yixing guy had healing powers, then he would thank them later. Kyungsoo texted some more, his eyes nervously going back to Jongin occasionally.

The redhaired came back then with another blond guy, which Jongin assumed was Yixing. The blond sat down at the other side of Jongin offering a hand.

“Give me your hand so I can heal you,” he said, his voice was so peaceful and sweet, almost like a lullaby. Jongin took his hand and Yixing gave him a dimpled smile, quickly putting his other hand over Jongin’s. He closed his eyes, and after a few seconds Jongin started to feel some energy rushing into his body, it felt fuzzy and warm and it soothed his aching throat slowly.

Jongin could feel the other two just staring at them as they waited. A few minutes later, Yixing let go of Jongin’s hands and smiled.

“You’re all good now,” he looked up at the others. “Is he staying here tonight? I can prepare his room.”

“Please do,” the redhaired said. “I don’t want to risk him going back home, they could be waiting.”

This made Jongin’s body shiver.

“Okay,” Yixing gave Jongin a warm smile. “You’ll be safe here.”

“Thank you,” was all Jongin could respond. The blond left, leaving him with Kyungsoo and the redhaired. He didn’t have a clue of what would happen next, other than him staying the night, but could he? Especially with all the people he knew lived there.

“I’ll take care of him,” Kyungsoo gave the redhaired a look Jongin could not understand.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, remember what happened last time,” the redhaired avoided Jongin’s eyes. There was more to this story, things they weren’t telling him.

“I learn from my mistakes quickly,” Kyungsoo sighed. “Junmyeon Hyung… I won’t let anyone touch him.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Junmyeon sighed and took a step back, glancing at Jongin once. “Fine, you’re still in charge of his safety for now.”

Kyungsoo nodded and just like that Junmyeon disappeared down the hall. Jongin wasn’t sure at all of what was going on, and he didn’t know why it looked like Kyungsoo cared so much but maybe he could give him some answers to what happened.

“Can I ask you something?” Jongin’s voice was back to normal after Yixing did his magic voodoo thing. “Who was that at my apartment? Why did they try to kill me?”

Kyungsoo sighed. “That’s complicated. Are you hungry?”

Jongin frowned, a pout forming on his lips when he didn’t get a direct answer, but then he realized he hadn’t had dinner yet and he was very hungry indeed. “A little, but I still want you to answer my question.”

“Let’s do that after dinner,” Kyungsoo smiled at him, like a real smile for the first time, no arrogance or anything else behind it, and Jongin didn’t know why he felt like that was a punch straight to his stomach. Kyungsoo wasn’t the type to smile, a smirk maybe, but not real smiles like that. “follow me.”

He disappeared down the hall and Jongin just sat there for a good five minutes, not knowing if he should indeed follow. In the end, he decided to follow him because he was going to be staying the night there apparently. He would protest but he was also kind of scared to go back to his apartment. The intruder could still be waiting nearby, the mere thought gave Jongin goosebumps.

Walking down the mysterious hall, he found out that the first door led to a kitchen, fortunately, the light was on, illuminating half of the hallway with it. There were other closed doors that he assumed were probably bedrooms and bathrooms since they seemed to be living down there. He slowly made his way inside the kitchen where Kyungsoo was already making dinner, according to what he could see it was probably pasta.

Jongin’s stomach growled at the lack of food, and he really liked pasta.

Jongin sat on one of the stools, watching the other work in silence, completely concentrated on the food. He had so many questions.

“Why did you save me?” Jongin heard the other sigh at his question. He couldn’t help it, he needed answers and he just couldn’t put them on hold.

“Because you’re one of us… Junmyeon told you,” Kyungsoo didn’t look up when he said this. Jongin’s eyebrows knitted on his forehead.

“How are you guys so sure?” It didn’t make any sense to him. He could just be a random person and the things he saw… well, what assured him he really saw them, and they weren’t implanted in his head by them.

“Well you saw it yourself, didn’t you?” Kyungsoo replied and Jongin was about to interrupt him. “Today when I arrived, you used your powers on the traitor.”

What powers? He didn’t even think he had such thing; how could he have used powers that he didn’t know he had?

“I know what you’re thinking. I think it was mostly because you were at risk, so your body took over… but you did,” Kyungsoo turned around, opening the fridge behind him. Jongin was still confused. At what point while he was being strangled to death did he use said powers?

Wait…

Did he mean that white light that got the intruder off him? Did he produce that white light on his own? Was that the confirmation he needed to believe what he really was?

“Okay, let’s say I believe you… you weren’t supposed to be my babysitter. You said you would send Baekhyun so, why were you there?” was Jongin being stalked by several people? He wouldn’t be surprised at this point.

“Because Baekhyun couldn’t make it but that idiot couldn’t send a text until way later,” Kyungsoo shrugged. “I went back as fast as I could because I felt something like that could happen and looks like I was right because you were attacked the second they knew you were alone.”

Kyungsoo had such an intense stare, his eyes as dark as the night just piercing a hole through Jongin’s soul. Jongin looked down, fidgeting with his fingers when he couldn’t stand the weight of his stare any longer. There was an unsettling feeling of déjà vu running inside of him like his stare felt familiar. It was too intense to ignore and maybe Jongin had to start thinking that they were probably right and that it was his memories from a previous life waking up.

He wanted to remember and at the same time, he didn’t.

However, the way he talked about it, it made it seem way more personal to him than it was to the others. Well, he couldn’t talk about the rest, but Sehun and Baekhyun didn’t look like they felt as strongly as Kyungsoo. He was just about to ask when Sehun and Baekhyun rushed inside the kitchen.

“Jongin!” Baekhyun ran over to hug him, Jongin was surprised for a few minutes, patting Baekhyun’s back awkwardly. “Oh my God! I can’t believe what happened. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine… Kyungsoo saved me and Yixing healed me,” Jongin tried to smile but it came out more like a grimace.

Sehun glanced at Kyungsoo, and the other held his stare, like daring him to say anything. Sehun eventually looked away, sighing. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re not going back are you?”

“I’m fine. Looks like I will be staying over,” Jongin shrugs. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” Kyungsoo interrupted, there was obvious anger in his voice. “I should’ve made sure someone was on the way and stayed with him until that someone arrived. Won’t make that mistake again.”

“It wasn’t intentional, you didn’t know they would try something so soon,” Sehun sighed sitting next to Jongin.

“Who are they?” Jongin asked, but he was completely ignored.

“We have to assume everything Sehun, I will keep watching him,” Kyungsoo went back to the pasta. Sehun scoffed.

“So, you’re going to be his shadow and get yourself killed too this time?” Sehun didn’t look pleased at all. “You were lucky last time, but luck runs out. Let the rest of us take over.”

“If you guys really want to help then why don’t you guard his apartment? I’m not leaving him,” Kyungsoo turned around, letting Sehun know the conversation is over on his part.

Baekhyun and Jongin exchanged a look, not saying anything that could worsen the tense mood. Jongin was feeling a little frustrated, his questions were not being answered and they just kept talking about him like he wasn’t even in the room. It bothered him.

“Okay, let’s not fight when we have a guest,” Baekhyun said, smiling at Jongin. “So, you’re staying.”

Jongin nodded. “My apartment is a mess and… Kyungsoo thinks whoever attacked me might be waiting to do it again.”

Baekhyun sighed, thinking about this for a moment. “I’ll tell Jongdae and Chanyeol so we can go secure the area. You will have to go back eventually.”

“Thanks,” Jongin decided he liked Baekhyun, out of the ones he had officially met, he was the only one that seemed to be reasonable.

“It’s nothing,” Baekhyun smiled. “I’ll keep you guys updated,” he then left the kitchen. Sehun still had his eyes on the back of Kyungsoo’s head, not saying anything so Jongin was surprised when he just jumped out of his seat and left the kitchen as well.

“Is Sehun going to be okay?” Jongin questioned, he felt some tension coming out of him, a tension that he didn’t quite understand.

“He’ll be fine,” Kyungsoo just shrugged it off, finishing dinner and setting a plate in front of Jongin, before sitting next to him. “Eat.”

Jongin glanced down at his plate, it looked very appetizing and he was hungry, so he wasted no time in digging in. Sitting there, in a basement kitchen with a guy he barely knew but now trusted with his life, Jongin wondered where had his common sense run off to. However, this guy next to him saved his life, and with the way he was going against everyone it looked like he cared a lot.

Why did Kyungsoo care so much?

Jongin sighed, eating more pasta, gaining a look from the other.

“You don’t like it?” Kyungsoo asked looking down at his plate.

“Oh no, I was just thinking…” Jongin dropped his fork. “I want answers.”

There was a moment of silence between them before Kyungsoo nodded.

“I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

Jongin was determined to know everything.


	9. Lust

“What do you want to know?” Kyungsoo asked. He was sitting across from Jongin in the living room, both holding a mug filled with tea.

“Who is after me? And why are they after me?” Jongin needed to know the reason he was being targeted. He deserved to know, his apartment was a mess, and so was his life now.

“Because you’re one of us, and they are on the opposite team,” Kyungsoo sighed. “Remember the story Junmyeon told you?” Jongin nodded in response. “Well, we are the ones hiding on earth, they are the ones trying to hunt us down and exterminate us… you’re an easy target because you don’t remember much about this life.”

“I don’t remember anything,” Jongin snorted, and being honest he wasn’t sure he wanted to, this life meant a lot of complications he didn’t sign up for. However, at the same time, he felt unprotected by not knowing anything. It didn’t matter if Sehun, Baekhyun, or Kyungsoo tried to protect him, which led him to his next question. “Why does it feel like it’s kind of personal for you?”

“Personal?” Kyungsoo took a sip of his mug.

“Yeah, I know I can’t remember the type of relationship I had with anybody but…” Jongin frowned.

“Exactly, you can’t remember,” Kyungsoo sighed, placing his mug on the coffee table. “Everyone here knows you well, we’ve all had different experiences with you since our creation. To you, it feels like we’ve just met, but to us, there’s hundreds and hundreds of years of… friendship.”

Jongin tries to process this information for a moment, his brain trying to understand the idea of this strange group of people having memories about him that he didn’t have, caring about him in general. In a way, it’s so weird but at the same time, it made Jongin feel warm inside. He guessed that would explain why Kyungsoo was watching over him so closely, although it seemed a little too much.

“Were we best friends?” he then asks, Kyungsoo responded with a chuckle.

“I guess you could say that.”

Suddenly the door swung open, Yixing walked in with another one of them, Jongin identified the lip chain and the bun on his head. They looked over at them and made their way over, sitting next to Kyungsoo. The lip chain guy glanced over at Jongin.

“I heard you had an encounter today,” he dragged his words and Jongin wasn’t sure if this was his way of speaking or if he was drunk already. It was barely nine o'clock at night.

“Jongdae, can we not talk about this?” Kyungsoo sighed, looked like he felt the same way Jongin did about the matter.

“I’m just trying to make conversation,” Jongdae shrugged, putting an arm around Yixing, and pulling him towards him. Yixing smiled sweetly in response.

“Do you guys have sins assigned too? Or virtues I don’t know,” Jongin questioned. It was hard for him to know which one was which.

“We do,” Jongdae smirked. “Yixing’s sin is deception and my virtue is truth.”

Kyungsoo laughed and Yixing punched his arm playfully. Jongin frowned.

“What he meant is… my virtue is truth and his sin is deception. Trust about half of what he says, he just lies for fun,” Yixing shook his head but still smiled when Jongdae leaned in to kiss his cheek.

“How would I know when he’s telling the truth?” If his sin was deception, then there was no way Jongin would be able to tell the difference.

“You can ask me, I can always tell,” Yixing intertwined his fingers with Jongdae’s. “That’s why he can never lie to me.”

“Just so you’re not confused, every virtue has blond hair after the awakening, and every sin has black hair,” Kyungsoo explained, reaching out for his mug again.

“Unless they change it,” Yixing added. “Like Junmyeon.”

_Oh._

So, as far as he knew, Baekhyun and Yixing were virtues. Jongdae, Sehun, Junmyeon, and Kyungsoo were sins.

“What’s your sin again?” Jongin asked Kyungsoo who just smirked, his eyes turning darker. Suddenly the air in the room felt heavy and Jongin felt hot in all kinds of places, he shifted slightly on the couch watching Jongdae and Yixing also sit closer to each other.

“Stop, Kyungsoo,” Yixing protested, his voice sounded a little out of breath.

“Please don’t… I like this,” Jongdae smiled, standing up and pulling Yixing with him. “See you guys later.”

Once they disappeared down the hall, Kyungsoo turned to Jongin again. “Lust is my sin.”

_Lust._

_Oh well.._.

“Is that why I feel…?” Jongin couldn’t even put his thoughts into words.

“Horny? Yeah, that’s me,” Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow.

“Why didn’t I feel like this before?”

“Because I didn’t want you to,” Kyungsoo shrugged. “I control it however I want.”

Jongin didn’t say anything for a moment, making people just feel… _horny_ , that was as sinful as it could get. He sat back on the couch his brain all over the place with all the information and the way he was feeling and… why was it still so hot in there?

“Can you like… stop doing that? Please,” Jongin’s voice started to sound raspy as well and he cleared his throat to gather himself. Kyungsoo chuckled, just looking at him for a moment before relaxing against the couch, his eyes not as dark as before and Jongin started to feel better instantly. “Thanks.”

Kyungsoo shrugged, standing up then. “You’re safe here so I’ll head upstairs for a while, you should go to sleep for now.”

That was probably the best idea for him now, it had been a long day and to be quite honest Jongin was exhausted. He was drained mentally, emotionally, and physically. There was too much to think about, too much to consider, and things just seemed to be moving so fast for him. Kyungsoo led him into a room, he didn’t know if it belonged to any of them, but it didn’t look like they slept a lot.

Kyungsoo turned around to leave, however, Jongin suddenly stopped him, holding on to his arm. “So, tomorrow… you guys will go back with me to the apartment. Right?” The idea of doing that on his own was terrifying.

“We will,” Kyungsoo placed a hand over Jongin’s, and even when he didn’t have Baekhyun’s powers Jongin still felt safe and calm. “I will be there with you.”

They shared a look for a moment before Jongin nodded.

He sighed as he sat on the bed. “Can you stay with me for a while? I don’t want to be alone.”

Kyungsoo hesitated but then he nodded, sitting next to him, and patting his shoulder softly. “I’ll be here until you fall asleep.”

The bed was comfortable, so he couldn’t complain of anything, however, the weight of that day’s events was starting to fall on him. Someone had tried to kill him, and he had been terrified, the time it lasted Jongin didn’t know if he would make it out alive or not.

And in all honesty, he didn’t have much hope then.

Jongin’s eyes started to burn with the tears he hadn’t allowed to come out after being rescued, maybe due to shock, maybe because he wanted to be strong for himself, but in the darkness of a stranger’s room, Jongin cried and cried until there wasn’t a tear left. Kyungsoo was silent the entire time, rubbing Jongin’s arm to comfort him. Jongin couldn’t make much of his expression in the dark but he was glad he at least had him there.

He was glad he had Kyungsoo.

Only when his eyes were finally dry, he allowed himself to drift off.

…

“The area is safe; they’re not hiding around,” Sehun said as he approached them. Jongin, Kyungsoo, and Baekhyun were standing in the hallway of Jongin’s apartment building, waiting to go inside. “They won’t try anything anytime soon; they know we’re protecting him.”

“We don’t know that,” Kyungsoo said. He glanced at Jongin. “Open the door, I’ll go inside and check.”

Jongin nodded, opening the code pad for his apartment, and putting in the code not caring if the others saw or not. The red light turned into a green light and the door opened smoothly. Kyungsoo was the first to go in, followed by Sehun. Baekhyun sighed as he waited outside with Jongin.

“Don’t worry, Jun hyung is investigating and Minseok Hyung is also searching the city… we’ll find them,” he rubbed Jongin’s arm, trying to provide some comfort. Jongin didn’t know if it had to be with Baekhyun’s powers or his comforting smile but he felt better.

A few minutes later Kyungsoo and Sehun came out.

“The apartment is clear,” Kyungsoo pulled Jongin inside and the rest followed. “You said you have class.”

Jongin nodded, his eyes can’t help to look around at the mess. Proof that what happened the day before was real and that someone that wanted to kill him was still out there.

“We’ll help cleaning up everything,” Baekhyun pushed him in direction to his bedroom. “You go get ready for school and we’ll take care of it.”

Jongin was a bit hesitant about this but Kyungsoo nodded.

“Just go, if you want to be on time you can’t sit here to clean up,” Kyungsoo reached out for a broken piece of porcelain of the vase Jongin broke on his intruder’s head. Jongin sighed, turning around, and heading for his room. He had to check in with his brother, so he didn’t suspect anything, he also had to take a shower and brush his teeth since he didn’t do so back in the basement.

He felt gross.

The first thing he did was text his brother, a simple good morning text that he hoped his brother didn’t turn into a call because he wasn’t sure he could talk to him without breaking down. He dropped his phone on top of the bed, getting his towel and other necessities and heading to the bathroom.

A warm shower sounded and felt like heaven. It almost felt like a whole-body transplant for Jongin, all his worries slipping away with the warm water and it was a plus that he didn’t feel like something that came straight out of a trash bag anymore. He finally stepped out of the shower, allowing himself to look at his reflection in the mirror for the first time. Of course, since Yixing healed him there weren’t any kind of bruises or marks or anything but he could still feel the intruder’s hands around his neck.

Jongin shook his head, this wasn’t the time to go there.

He got changed and grabbed his things before heading out into the living room. Everything was sort of back into place, except for the things that were broken, but other than that they did a great job cleaning around. Kyungsoo was in the kitchen, making sandwiches, and Baekhyun and Sehun were sitting on the stools just observing.

“I’m ready,” Jongin said, sitting next to Sehun. “Also, thanks for cleaning up guys… it was really quick.”

Baekhyun smiled. “We have our ways.”

Kyungsoo sighed, putting a plate in front of him. “First, breakfast.”

Jongin chuckled, nodding as he took a bite of his sandwich. “Yes, mom.”

Sehun and Baekhyun laughed and quickly gathered themselves when Kyungsoo glared at them.

Kyungsoo did one for everyone and he sat down to eat as well. They sat there in comfortable silence for a while, when suddenly Jongin’s phone beeped inside his pocket. He put his sandwich down, thinking it was probably his brother texting him back, which he was very thankful for.

He could be a little too intense for Jongin, and if he sensed that there was something wrong, he would start asking questions, Jongin would start crying and he would take the first flight there. Jongin didn’t need his brother to get involved in a mess he didn’t even know how to handle himself.

Pulling out the phone, he noticed it wasn’t his brother, but his project partner who he completely had forgotten about and was supposed to text. Jongin almost smashed his head on the marble counter. A lot was going on, but he still had to focus on school or else his brother would kill him. Jongin sent a quick message letting him know they could get together that same day at the library to keep working.

Jongin sighed before putting his phone away and going back to his breakfast. Getting his shit together seemed to be harder than he thought.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Jongin asked. “Who’s going to follow me?”

Baekhyun was the one to speak first. “Kyungsoo will be with you during classes, Sehun will join during breaks and I will hide here in case whoever tried to make Jongin juice attempts to do it again.”

“Jongin juice?” Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow.

“Well… do you have a better way to put it? At least without the k-word?” Baekhyun finished his breakfast in no time, putting the plate on the sink.

Kyungsoo sighed. “Never mind.”

Jongin imitated Baekhyun and grabbed his stuff. He could only hope the day would go smoother. “Okay, let’s go then.”

He could only hope.


	10. Party

Jongin entered the classroom still feeling uneasy, even when Kyungsoo was with him most of the time and he knew Kyungsoo was around there was still something that felt odd for him. He only started to feel some sense of normalcy when his friends walked into the classroom sitting next to him and Kyungsoo.

Minjoon smiled at them, "Jongin! How are you feeling? Kyungsoo said you weren't feeling good yesterday."

Jongin sighed a little relieved that Kyungsoo had covered for him. He nodded giving them both a smile.

"I was feeling sick, but nothing that an old remedy can't fix," Jongin glanced briefly at Kyungsoo who was just looking down at his phone. "Also a few cups of tea."

"I'm glad you're okay... we had fun last night but we wished you were there." Minjoon pulled a few books out of his bag and Jongwoon nodded. Jongin notice Jongwoon was acting a bit weird, not saying much, and actively avoiding looking at Kyungsoo. He would have to ask about it later.

The teacher arrived then driving the scattered conversations into silence as they started the lecture. Once class was over, they moved around the halls trying to reach their next class. Kyungsoo was unusually silent which unsettled Jongin, always on the phone and he couldn't help but wonder if there was any news about the intruder.

"Jongin!" someone called in the distance, making Jongin turn around. It was his project partner, waving a hand as he approached, his blonde hair brushed back. Jongin felt Kyungsoo tensing next to him. "I was about to text you but since I saw you let's coordinate a time to get together and work on that project." There wasn't much expression on Yifan's face. He didn't even look at the people waiting behind Jongin.

Jongin nodded, "I have some time after three. Is that okay?"

"Sure, I'll see you at the library then."

Jongin thought he saw Yifan glancing at Kyungsoo, but it was so brief he couldn't tell if he for sure saw it. He turned around towards his friends, of course, Minjoon asking a million questions about his project partner.

"I only know his name and his phone number," Jongin laughed. "We don't know each other."

"I'll take his phone number." Minjoon smiled, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and Jongin just laughed.

"I'll ask him if that's okay."

With moments like this Jongin could almost feel normal again.

Almost.

...

Jongin found Yifan quickly, it was a bit hard to miss a very tall guy with blond hair on the first floor of the library either way. Sehun said he was going to sit close and Kyungsoo had informed him he would be outside. They were both very tense and that didn’t help with Jongin’s anxiety. He was hoping this study session would help take his mind off things and help him get himself back on track with his studies.

Yifan nodded as a greeting when Jongin sat down across from him, awfully aware of Sehun staring at them a few tables away. Jongin and Yifan soon entered a nice working pace, discussing the approach of their project, and doing some research for it.

They were at it for a few hours, Jongin was concentrated on the book he was reading, writing down what they needed for the project.

“Do you usually have bodyguards when you go out?” Yifan suddenly asked, catching Jongin off guard, his eyes widened at the question when he remembered Sehun was a few tables away.

“Oh, not really,” Jongin shook his head. “We’re supposed to be somewhere after this so he’s waiting for me,” he figured lying was the best way to go.

“Hmm,” was all Yifan said, going back to his laptop.

Jongin gazed at Sehun, who was going through his phone, probably not aware of their conversation. Minutes passed when they were about to call it a day for their project, Yifan closed his laptop carefully placing it inside his bag and Jongin did the same with the books.

“Is it urgent?”

“Huh?” Jongin looked up, frowning at the question.

“Wherever it is you’re going… do you have to?” Yifan asked again. “I was thinking maybe we could eat something.”

Was Yifan asking him out? That was… unexpected.

“Oh! Well… I…,” Jongin stuttered not knowing what to say.

“Sadly, he has to,” Sehun interrupted literally out of nowhere, Jongin didn’t even hear him walk towards them. Sehun gave Yifan the fakest smile Jongin had ever seen and Yifan just shrugged, waving at him before leaving. Jongin looked at Sehun with a questioning gaze.

“What?” Sehun asked, shrugging. “In my defense, you do have somewhere to be.” Sehun grabbed Jongin’s bag, walking towards the exit.

“Where?” Jongin asked as he caught up with the other. Sehun gave him a half-smile.

“You’ll see…,” he then stopped walking. “Also, don’t tell Kyungsoo the guy asked you out.”

“Why not?” Jongin frowned.

“Just do as I tell you,” Sehun didn’t say anything else as they exited the library. They spotted Kyungsoo talking to someone, a girl, just outside the door. He was smiling more than Jongin had ever seen him smile. It was obvious he was flirting by the way he reached out, tucking a loose strand of hair behind the girl’s ear. Sehun sighed. “Never mind, just tell him.” 

Jongin was confused, but his brain was going back and forth between Sehun’s words and the weird feeling inside his stomach.

Sehun and Jongin approached them and Sehun cleared his throat. Kyungsoo looked at them before turning to the girl and sending her off with a charming smile, the girl said nothing as she waved goodbye and left. Jongin looked between Sehun and Kyungsoo repeatedly, not understanding this exchange.

“You guys are ready?” Kyungsoo asked, his smile was polite.

Sehun scoffed, “You’re lucky now when he remembers you’re doomed.”

“Sehun…,” Kyungsoo warned, not like Jongin could understand a thing of what they were saying.

“Jongin’s project partner asked him out,” Sehun spit out before dragging Jongin away, with Kyungsoo walking behind them asking questions about this event. Sehun winked at Jongin, putting a finger to his lips advising him to not say anything about it.

“What do you mean he asked him out?” Kyungsoo kept asking as he walked behind them. “Why is this guy asking him out?”

Sehun shrugged. “Well, Jongin is available so why wouldn’t he get dinner invitations?”

“Because…,” Kyungsoo hesitated and then he sighed.

“Keep going,” Sehun said. He was still pulling Jongin out of campus and in direction to his apartment to meet with Baekhyun probably. “I’m listening.”

“Shut up,” was all Kyungsoo said, he was frowning the whole trip back to the apartment. Jongin wanted to ask what was going on because as always, they were talking as if he wasn’t even there, however he had given up on that.

Maybe he would understand someday. 

They went up the stairs to Jongin’s apartment. Sehun and Kyungsoo following right behind and now Jongin could understand the bodyguard comment. He opened the door, walking in and turning on the lights on his way in.

“Surprise!”

Jongin took a step back, a hand against his chest and his eyes widened when he heard the voices greet him. He sighed in relief when he saw Baekhyun, Yixing, and the rest of them. Familiar faces, that even when he didn’t know them as well, he knew he was going to be alright.

“What’s all of this?” Jongin asked, going further into the living room. That’s when he noticed decorations and food on the table. They had turned his living room into a party.

“This is your welcome back party…,” Baekhyun explained. “You don’t remember this of course but every time we meet again, we always do this as a celebration of having you back.”

Jongin looked around the room at all the smiling faces, faces he didn’t remember but that at the same time had been there over the last few days. Faces that by the looks of it have been there for him for longer than he could remember. This could’ve felt awkward for him but in a way, he felt warm. Jongin gave them his best smile.

“Thanks for doing this, I think I needed this,” Jongin said and he noticed the relief in their faces.

“We figured you would be stressed because of what happened,” Junmyeon said. “Yixing made all this food, and the rest of us helped with the decorations.”

“Sounds like Yixing is the real MVP here,” Sehun said behind Jongin. He walked over starting to eat almost instantly.

“You seriously have no manners Sehun,” Baekhyun protested, shaking his head. They all finished greeting Jongin and joined Sehun before he disappeared all the food. This had to be the second time Jongin saw them all together and it was an experience. They were all so relaxed, making jokes and laughing, drinking, and the way they seemed to know each other so well made Jongin a bit jealous.

He couldn’t help to think about the memories he didn’t have. What were they like? What moments did they go through together? What kind of friendship he had with each of them?

“What’s wrong Jonginnie,” Baekhyun said, sitting across from him. He had such a warm smile, Jongin had no doubt he was an angel or something like one. “You seem lost.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just…” Jongin took a deep breath, he didn’t know if he could ask. Would it be too much for them? “I was simply curious about the past. My past life with you guys.”

“Which one?” Jongdae chuckled, he wasn’t wearing the chain or his lip ring today, which made him look way less threatening. “We’ve been through several lives with you.”

“Jongdae…” Yixing tried to stop him, but Junmyeon shook his head.

“He has a right to know his past,” by Junmyeon’s tone, Jongin could tell that this was something that they discussed often.

“Why don’t we start with the beginning then?” Baekhyun smiled at him and Jongin returned the gesture. “You were trained to be a leader, since the day of your creation, they made you so you could lead us into battle. However, we always noticed that for some reason angels never wanted to be near you.”

“That didn’t stop you from being our favorite always, you have a lot of charisma and leadership skills. You also always treated us like friends instead of weapons,” Yixing said.

“You were always running around, leaving the base at night and coming back every morning in time for training, we never questioned what you were doing,” Baekhyun sat back into Chanyeol’s arm. “We didn’t know you were watching them. The sins. One day you came back, saying they were also tired of this war and that they were just like us. We were trained to hate them, but you learned to see past that.”

Jongin looked between the two. “So, what happened?”

“Well, you said we had no reason to fight and some of us believed you. We followed you and we saw with our own eyes how the sins were also being used. We joined forces and we were exiled.” Baekhyun said all of this still smiling, there wasn’t a pinch of regret in his voice or his eyes as he said this. He looked up at Chanyeol and kissed his chin.

“But of course, they wouldn’t just let us live, so they hunt us down. A lot of virtues and sins died in the process and we were sentenced.” Yixing sighed, his eyebrows furrowing at the memories of those who didn’t make it.

“This is my curse, to reincarnate and lose my memories…” Jongin didn’t want to even imagine how many times his friends had to go through this story just so he could get a better understanding.

“It’s a bit more complicated than that… since you were their leader you were sentenced to death, over and over. They thought with time you would lose everything, friendship, love, the will to live, and would either beg for your life or definite death. So, they let you reincarnate just so they can kill you and make you pay for what you did.” Chanyeol was the one to speak then. “Years and years of death, of infinite death.”

“Somehow always when you turn seventeen, I’m surprised they missed a whole year this time,” Sehun added. The rest of them seemed to think about it.

“Maybe because they couldn’t find him?” Minseok said, but the frown on his face indicated that he didn’t fully believe that.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Kyungsoo mumbled.

There was silence in the room for a moment.

“That’s why we had to protect you, every single time, so it takes them more time to find you and actually go through with the sentence.” Baekhyun bit on his bottom lip. “We do what we can to protect you.”

“Sadly, it is never enough,” Kyungsoo said and the words were bitter and filled with regret. Jongin avoided looking at him because he didn’t know what he would see in his eyes.

“And, how many times have you guys…?” He didn’t know how to even finish that question. His chest felt heavy for them.

“Seen you die?” Baekhyun finished for him, with a sad smile. “More than there are stars in the sky.”

There was a silence in the room, stares lost and Jongin assumed they were thinking of the times he died, and if what Baekhyun said was true then there was a possibility they each had a different time in their minds.

“Sometimes we manage to get your memory back, sometimes your powers come back, but it’s always the same result.” Baekhyun gave him an apologetic look. A look that said, ‘I’m sorry we couldn’t save you. I’m sorry you will possibly die again.’

Because that’s what it meant.

That once again, just like every other time there was a chance he died.

And then start all over.

Jongin didn’t feel ready for that, but who was ever ready for their death. No matter how much people liked to pretend they were, there’s always that tiny feeling of desperation during those last moments that screamed for life.

Sehun clears his throat with a smirk. “You’re not the only one around here with issues you know, we also have Minseok over there,” Sehun said pointing at him, who frowned instantly. “Minseok was cursed to never feel love towards the one he loved the most.” Sehun then waves at Jongdae who just sighed.

What?

Jongin’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Minseok and Jongdae used to be together, but after we were exiled Minseok stopped feeling any kind of romantic love towards anyone,” Junmyeon explained. He shook his head, but deep down he thanked Sehun for the change of subject.

“So Jongdae had to move on and a few hundred years later his sin counterpart had him falling all over again,” Sehun chuckled when Jongdae glared at him.

“Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t fry you right now,” Jongdae muttered between clenched teeth.

“I’m sure you’ll have more reasons to do it,” Sehun crossed his legs, a satisfied smile hanging off his lips. “But you won’t because who’s going to listen to you whine about Minseok every three centuries.”

A few things happened at once

Jongdae raised a hand in Sehun’s direction, Junmyeon stopped him, Minseok also raised a hand and nobody did anything about it. A few seconds later Sehun was falling to the floor, holding an arm against his chest, half crying in pain, half laughing.

Jongin was the only one to quickly kneel in his rescue, noticing his arm was… frozen. Like there was literal ice around it. He looked around; eyes widened like waiting for anybody to give him any explanation as to what just happened. Chanyeol sighed kneeling next to him.

“Minseok can control ice,” he said, putting his hands over Sehun’s arm, the ice melting quickly. “I control fire, we each have a different ability.” Jongin nods as he watches how Sehun goes from a frozen arm to just a wet shirt. He was still kind of laughing.

“You’re lucky, it was Minseok and not Jongdae. That would take some time to heal.” Junmyeon said, not even gazing at Sehun, who just stood up and went back to his chair as if nothing happened.

“Just keep in mind that I can still be annoyed,” Minseok muttered. Jongin was slightly confused, but he didn’t ask anything as he went back to his seat as well. The rest of the evening went by smoothly, without any other ice incidents or arguments. Jongin started to gradually feel more comfortable around them, even with the ones he hadn’t interacted before. When the food was all gone and so were the beers the guys decided it was time to head back.

Sehun would do a few rounds around the neighborhood and Chanyeol was supposed to be his substitute in a few hours. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo was going to stay with Jongin. He didn’t know how to feel about it and honestly, he wasn’t opposed to it either, being alone inside the apartment wasn’t very appealing to him after what happened.

And he also didn’t mind having time alone with him.

Jongin and Kyungsoo were left to clean up, a comfortable silence setting between them as they did. Jongin kept glancing back at him, he had been noticeably quiet when they were talking about Jongin’s past life, and except for a few muttered words, Jongin didn’t know what he thought or how was their friendship back then.

Jongin didn’t know if it was the beers giving him this sudden courage, whatever it was, he took advantage of it.

“So…” Jongin started, pulling the couch pillows back in their place. “Were we close before? In any of my previous lives?”

At first, he thought Kyungsoo wasn’t going to answer, but when he spoke his voice was low, he chose his words carefully.

“We were close in all of your previous lives,” Kyungsoo said, putting all the dishes in the sink, letting out a sigh.

“Oh, then that makes sense.” Jongin sat down, his eyes were piercing a hole down Kyungsoo’s back.

“What makes sense?”

“That you care a lot,” Jongin said. “You are always here with me; you make decisions about what you think it’s best for me. I thought it seemed like you cared just a bit more than the rest of them,” Jongin shrugs even though Kyungsoo can’t see him with his back turned to him.

When Kyungsoo turned around his eyes carried more pain than Jongin thought anyone could ever feel in a lifetime. There were a lot of other mixed feelings that Jongin couldn’t identify, however, it was obvious that out of everyone, Kyungsoo cared the most.

Jongin wasn’t sure of what took over him, but one second, he was sitting in the living room, and the next he was closing all that space, walking into the kitchen, and wrapping his arms around Kyungsoo. It was an impulse, one that even took Jongin by surprise, but he didn’t care. This man needed comfort and for someone to tell him it was going to be okay. Jongin didn’t know if those words were true but he said them anyway.

“It will be fine,” he ran his hand over Kyungsoo’s back constantly, a lump forming in his own throat. Kyungsoo was frozen for a moment, sort of shocked at the sudden gesture, but a few seconds later he also embraced Jongin, letting out a sigh that he had been holding for years, resting his forehead on Jongin’s shoulder.

Jongin thought their height difference was cute.

They didn’t know how long they embraced each other, and they didn’t care. For now, all they needed was this.

And later that night, Jongin had his first dream in a while.

…

Jongin opened his eyes suddenly, he was breathing heavily, and he was sweating, strings of hair sticking to the side of his face. It took him a while to realize he wasn’t alone, Kyungsoo was hovering over him with a frown on his face. He brushed Jongin’s hair back and said something Jongin didn’t understand.

“Huh?” Jongin looked around, he was still in his room, everything was fine. Kyungsoo was in his room too.

“I said that I heard you talking on your sleep and came to see if you were okay,” he said looking concerned. Jongin took a deep breath and nodded, maybe he had a weird dream, one that he couldn’t remember.

“I was dreaming I guess,” Jongin said. Kyungsoo sat on the bed and Jongin did the same.

“I figured out that much,” Kyungsoo sighed, his eyes fixated on Jongin for a moment. They both just sat there, with Jongin trying to get his heart to stop racing and Kyungsoo’s brain working at the speed of light. “Do you want anything to drink? Maybe some warm milk?”

There was no confusing the way Jongin’s eyes lit up at the mere suggestion. Kyungsoo chuckled and shook his head.

“Fine, I’ll be right back,” he stood up, leaving the room and therefore, leaving Jongin alone. He stared at the white walls for a while, his body filling with anxiety. Maybe staying there alone wasn’t the greatest idea so he took his blanket wrapping himself with it and made his way out of the room. Jongin could see Kyungsoo moving around in the kitchen so he sat on the couch, just observing him for a while. He noticed his anxiety levels went down significantly the moment he was almost in the same room with Kyungsoo.

Of course, this could be because he saved him, and was taking care of him, but Jongin had the feeling there was more to it.

Something Kyungsoo didn’t want to tell him.

A while later Kyungsoo walked over, warm milk in hand as he sat next to Jongin, handing him the mug. “Be careful, I think I gave it more heat than I should’ve.”

“It’s okay, thank you,” Jongin replied, smiling at him before giving it the first sip. It was hot, but not unbearable in any way so he sipped on it again. Kyungsoo leaned back on the couch, watching him drink diligently and he smiled. There was so much affection in his eyes that Jongin wondered if he noticed he was looking at him like that.

Jongin couldn’t help but look away, he was grateful the lights were off, so he could hide his sudden blush, except for the bathroom light which he always left on so he could see where he was going in case he woke up in the middle of the night, with the door opened. Their shoulders were touching, and he could still feel the weight of Kyungsoo’s eyes on him. Jongin drank half of his mug, carefully placing it over the coffee table.

“What’s wrong?” Kyungsoo asked. “Is it bad?”

“No, it’s just… I don’t want to end it so soon,” Jongin shrugged and his blush intensified under his golden skin. Kyungsoo didn’t say anything and Jongin couldn’t tell what he was thinking either since he wasn’t looking at him. They sat in silence for a while, in the darkness of the living room.

“You should finish it and go back to sleep,” Kyungsoo finally said, and not being able to hold his curiosity longer Jongin turned to see him. What he saw inside Kyungsoo’s eyes was long years of feelings and things he could only begin to understand and Jongin wished he had his memories back just so he could remember anything that had to do with him.

With them.

Because for a moment, Jongin knew. He knew what they were to each other.

“Can’t I stay here for a while?” Jongin’s voice was barely above a whisper, his eyes not able to leave Kyungsoo’s. He didn’t know when they got so close to each other, but he felt Kyungsoo’s breath when he sighed. Jongin could see the other’s sparkly eyes better from this close, his perfect nose, his plump, and pink lips. Kyungsoo was the lust sin, so he was more than likely designed to make people be attracted to him, but there was something under that perfection, something that Jongin couldn’t identify.

Kyungsoo was now staring at his lips and suddenly there was only one thing on Jongin’s head.

 _Kiss me_.

“You should finish that,” Kyungsoo whispered. “Go to bed.”

Jongin nodded, however, he could not move.

“I know what you’re thinking, but we can’t do this,” Kyungsoo said.

“Why not?”

“Because I made a promise, and I’m trying really hard to keep it,” it took Kyungsoo a lot of will power to pull away. Jongin on the other hand felt rejected and he didn’t know how to deal with it. Kyungsoo probably saw it, he saw how hurt Jongin was. Jongin grabbed his mug, quickly standing up and walking to his room without looking at Kyungsoo twice. He heard footsteps behind him, but he had nothing more to say.

Kyungsoo made a promise, he promised something to someone else and Jongin wasn’t ready to face how that made him feel. He had been wrong about them.

“Jongin,” Kyungsoo grabbed his arm, not letting him go into his room.

“Let me go,” Jongin whispered. He felt partly ashamed, he should’ve known.

Kyungsoo ignored him. “This promise I made… it was to you,”

“Huh?” Jongin turned around, frowning.

“I promised you something a long time ago,” Kyungsoo sighed. “So, please don’t be upset.”

He made Jongin a promise, not to him specifically but to the Jongin he knew from a long time ago. What kind of promise was it? He wanted to ask so badly.

Did it matter?

Jongin didn’t think it did. He let out the air he didn’t know he was holding; he had been through so many emotions over the past few minutes that he was starting to feel lightheaded. He had to let it go for now. Taking then a step towards Kyungsoo, Jongin pressed his lips lightly against the other’s cheek. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened since he didn’t expect it, a faint gasp leaving his mouth, making Jongin smile.

He wasn’t the Jongin that Kyungsoo knew from all those years ago.

But he would wait until he could be.


	11. Awakening

_Everything is dark, even with his eyes opened he can’t see. He tries reaching out for something, but there’s nothing he can hold on to._

_Suddenly there’s a bright light covering the space, and everything he thought was darkness was now gone. It feels warm._

_There’s a laugh, a deep and melodic laugh that moves Jongin’s heart._

_There’s a hand holding his._

_Black wings._

_Lips against his cheek, his neck, his shoulder…_

_The warm feeling increases, it’s… nice._

_Then there’s darkness again._

…

Jongin woke up sweating, and with an uncomfortable feeling rising in his stomach. He ran a hand through his wet hair, brushing it off his forehead as he tried to identify what’s making him feel like this. He doesn’t know. Jongin sat up in his bed, there’s light peeking through the curtains, he could hear his TV in the background and suddenly when he remembered the other person that was supposed to be in his apartment, he identified what he was feeling.

He was… _horny_.

And not just slightly but _very._

Jongin stood up, opening the door of his room, and walking into the living room where Kyungsoo was sleeping on the couch. He seemed uncomfortable but Kyungsoo refused anything else. Jongin grabbed a pillow, holding it against his body and proceeded to try to wake him up.

“Kyungsoo,” he called, shaking his arm at the same time. His voice came out too raspy for his liking. Jongin cleared his throat and tried again. “Kyungsoo.”

The man in question finally opened his eyes, one at a time, and looked around confused, until his eyes landed on Jongin. He mumbled an equally raspy good morning more than likely because he had been sleeping and he stretched a bit.

“Uhh, good morning,” Jongin scratched his chin, feeling a stubble under his fingers. “I don’t know how this works, but do you mind not using your powers right now?” Kyungsoo stared at him for a moment until the realization came to him.

“Oh, sorry,” he said, sitting up on the couch. He shook his head, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes gently. Jongin instantly started to feel better, there were still things he had to take care of, but it wasn’t as intense as before. “This happens when I dream sometimes.”

“That’s okay, thank you,” Jongin smiled, “I’ll go take a shower now.”

Kyungsoo nodded, not taking his eyes off him as he made his way into the bathroom, still holding a couch pillow. He chuckled, shaking his head.

Jongin came out of the bathroom feeling a lot better and fresh. Detecting the delicious smell of pancakes, so he followed it into the kitchen to find Kyungsoo and Chanyeol sitting there. He was kind of surprised at first, but he figured Chanyeol had been watching over them during the night.

“Good morning,” Jongin greeted, with a small smile. He still wasn’t sure what kind of relationship he used to have with him and Jongin had the feeling Chanyeol wasn’t very fond of him.

“Morning,” Chanyeol replied, he glanced at Jongin with a half-smile. Maybe he didn’t hate him as much as Jongin thought. Kyungsoo placed a plate filled with pancakes in front of Jongin and the syrup in the middle of their plates.

“Thank you,” Jongin smiled down at his plate, holding his laughter as best as he could. Each pancake had a different shape, his favorites were the bear-shaped ones. He glanced at Chanyeol’s plate, but they were all the typical round pancakes. “You’re a very skilled man.”

Kyungsoo smirked. “Pancakes is one of my many skills,” he winked. “Enjoy,” Kyungsoo grabbed a plate for himself sitting across from them. They ate in comfortable silence and Jongin had to admit the pancakes looked as good as they tasted. Once Chanyeol was done, he stood up, putting his plate on the sink.

“Minseok should be here soon,” he said, grabbing his jacket. “He’ll do rounds and if he sees anything, he’ll tell you.”

“Sounds good, Jongin doesn’t have classes until the afternoon, so we won’t be doing much today,” Kyungsoo informed and he got a look from Chanyeol, to which Kyungsoo only responded by lifting an eyebrow.

“How do you know that?” Jongin asked when he realized he never told Kyungsoo his schedule.

“Jongin, do you think I haven’t been paying attention to your classes or would figure out your schedule considering the circumstances?” was Kyungsoo’s only response.

It made sense.

“Well, I’ll leave you guys to it.” Chanyeol cleared his throat, making a smooth exit out of the apartment.

And then there were two.

They finished the rest of their breakfast quietly. Jongin was feeling a bit more cheerful after the events of the previous night. Other than the fact that there was something about Kyungsoo’s presence that was calming to Jongin, unlike what he felt when he was around Baekhyun. It was quite different, Baekhyun made him feel calm, Kyungsoo made him feel safe.

Like nothing would happen to him.

Jongin took his plate to the sink. “Well, I feel relieved that it doesn’t look like Chanyeol hates me after all.”

“You thought he did?” Kyungsoo chuckled.

“He always glared at me; I don’t know why.” Jongin’s bottom lip was sticking out slightly, bringing a smile to Kyungsoo’s face, which he looked away to hide.

“He doesn’t hate you, he’s just overly possessive with Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo shrugged, helping Jongin to clean the dishes. “His sin is wrath, so he gets upset easily.”

“So, your virtue or sin affects you or other people?” Jongin seemed to not get the hang of it just yet.

“It can do both if you let it,” Kyungsoo replied. Jongin bit his bottom lip, curiosity now taking over.

“Do you let yours affect you or just other people?” Jongin noticed Kyungsoo stopped washing, he turned to look at Jongin, and Jongin couldn’t help but do the same. They gazed at each other for a while, their eyes connected in a stare.

“What do you think?” Kyungsoo whispered, and Jongin’s heart stopped beating for a second.

“I’m not sure,” he answered. Jongin was very aware of the space around him, of the air entering and leaving his lungs, of his elbow slightly touching Kyungsoo’s. Kyungsoo chuckled, breaking their stare, and going back to the dishes.

“Let’s keep it that way then,” he responded. Jongin blinked, unsure of what just happened between them, his mind was completely blank for a moment and then he just went back to their dish task. It was kind of difficult to fully understand Kyungsoo and this world, and for a moment, he wished he could get his memories back. He wanted to remember his friendships, moments he spent with them.

Good things.

But that also meant he was going to remember the bad things too.

…

Getting out of his last class, Jongin got a text from Yifan. He was asking to meet at the library for their project, as always Kyungsoo was with him so after saying goodbye to Minjoon and Jongwoon who also had things to do, they walked together to the library. Jongin spotted Yifan’s blond head among the other students so he walked over to the table he’s sitting in, with Kyungsoo waiting for him a few tables away.

Jongin was surprised when he realized that Yifan wasn’t alone this time. Another guy was sitting next to him, significantly shorter than Yifan, although a lot of people were. He had blond curls covering his head and such a sweet smile that Jongin returned.

“This is Luhan,” Yifan introduced. “I hope you don’t mind him joining us today.”

“I also had some work to do, so I thought it would be fun to join you guys,” Luhan pulled some books out of his bag and Jongin nodded.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Jongin sat down across from them, smiling while he pulled out his things as well, he slightly glanced at Kyungsoo, but he was busy with something on his phone. “What should we start with?”

They worked on their project for a few hours, going back and forth with information. Jongin caught Luhan looking at him a few times, but the guy only smiled whenever their eyes met. He seemed to be nice.

It was only when he felt his stomach growl that he realized it was getting late. A quick look through the library windows confirmed that it was already dark outside and that he should get something to eat. Kyungsoo was probably hungry as well.

“What if we stop here,” Jongin offered, there was only so much he could do on an empty stomach. “I should go get dinner or something.”

“You’re right,” Luhan stretched, putting all his things back into his bag.

“Do you have anywhere to be tonight?” Yifan asked, taking Jongin by surprise… again.

“Uh, not really.”

“Then we should go to eat something. There’s this really good place nearby,” Yifan said all of this with a straight face, but Jongin already knew he didn’t smile much.

“Well, I would have to take my friend with us, if you don’t mind,” Jongin pointed at Kyungsoo and they both look at him for a moment.

“We don’t mind,” Yifan replied, and then it was settled. Jongin packed his things and walked over to tell Kyungsoo, with the other two right behind him.

Jongin introduced them. “They asked us out to eat,” Kyungsoo gazed at the other two, not saying anything for a while before nodding and standing up. They walked out of the library and campus, Yifan and Luhan leading the way, while Jongin walked next to Kyungsoo. Even though this could be perceived as a group gathering, for some reason Jongin’s first thought was that it looked like they were on their way to a double date.

He smiled at how silly he was being.

The campus only had a few people here and there because of the time. They walked across the street on their way to whatever place Yifan was suggesting. Kyungsoo was silent next to him, but it wasn’t like the other two were talking either, they were just walking.

“There’s a shortcut through here,” Yifan said. There was a poorly illuminated alley in front of them, Luhan was following right behind and Jongin was about to when Kyungsoo pulled him back. He was frowning, a tense grip around Jongin’s wrist, seeing him like this made Jongin feel uneasy.

“I don’t think we can go eat with you guys,” Kyungsoo said, and he pushed Jongin behind him. “Maybe next time.”

Kyungsoo kept pushing him back, not turning his back on them as he walked backward. Jongin was about to say something when he saw it. He saw Yifan’s eyes became a bright blue, shining in the darkness of the night.

_No._

It all happened so quickly, one moment they were standing on the street and the next they were shoved roughly into the dark alley. Jongin had a hand against his throat and all he could see were those bright blue eyes above him, haunting him. Eyes that couldn’t be from this earth.

“This time, we won’t fail,” Yifan whispered. Jongin heard Kyungsoo yelling somewhere in that deserted alley, the sound of fists against the skin echoing around them. He wasn’t sure of what was happening over there, but he didn’t know if Kyungsoo could handle the two of them. Pure fear started building on his system as he realized it wasn’t looking good for them.

Suddenly Yifan was pushed off Jongin and Kyungsoo was standing between them. Even with the bad lighting, Jongin could see that there was a nasty cut on his cheek, he was breathing heavily, and his eyes were also sparkling. Kyungsoo was strong, but they were two, and Jongin would not be able to help him at all. He instantly searched for his phone, texting an SOS to Sehun, before it was taken out of his hands.

Jongin looked up to see a third person, dirty blond hair, darker skin. The guy smirked as he broke Jongin’s phone in half. He grabbed Jongin by the collar only to be quickly pushed off by Kyungsoo. Jongin remembered him as one of Yifan’s friends, he didn’t remember his name.

Not that his name mattered, they were trying to kill him, and they were three against technically one. Jongin felt like this was familiar, the height, the way he stood next to them. He was Jongin’s intruder, there was no doubt in Jongin’s mind.

“There’s nothing you can do you filthy sin. You know how this is going to end,” Luhan was the one to speak, and there was nothing sweet or nice about him now. If Jongin’s thoughts were correct they were supposed to be virtues, only they were bad virtues.

Kyungsoo didn’t say a word, but it was clear in his eyes.

He wasn’t going to go through this pain again. He couldn’t.

Yifan and Luhan charged against Kyungsoo. Watching them fight, Jongin suddenly had a feeling of Déjà vu, a different image playing in his head. It was Kyungsoo fighting for him, he was always fighting, trying to save him even at the cost of his own life. Image after image came through and it took Jongin a minute to realize they were memories.

His memories.

He stared in shock, the events in front of him and the images in his head just playing simultaneously. Years and years of things he didn’t think he would ever remember coming back to him so fast he thought his head was about to explode.

Yifan managed to pin Kyungsoo against the floor, looking up at Luhan who had the most devious smirk Jongin had ever seen. They were about to kill him, he just knew.

“Zitao,” Yifan called and the guy next to Jongin chuckled. Of course! Zitao!

“I got him,” he said. “Looks like it’s your time to watch your lover die for a change,” Zitao moved closer to the other, Jongin’s heart skipped a beat. “It is only fair.”

Jongin’s heart broke into a million pieces because he remembered. He remembered a million smiles Kyungsoo had given him, every kiss, every hug, every meal they shared. The way Kyungsoo had been there for him for so long, even when it was better for him to just forget about him when it would be less painful that way.

Because he loved him.

And it hurt, even more, each time they had to say goodbye.

Jongin remembered _everything_.

Jongin also _felt_ everything.

Kyungsoo looked up at him, there was blood everywhere and he was all bruised. Kyungsoo didn’t utter a word, but regardless of that Jongin could understand perfectly what his eyes were saying. Jongin felt a sharp pain in his chest.

_At least we’re dying together this time._

That’s what he was thinking.

_No!_

Jongin broke down in tears, sobbing even when nothing had happened yet, and that’s when he felt it. The energy starting to run through him. A lot of energy more than he had ever felt since he was born. He felt it flowing through his veins and muscles, filling him with the most inexplicable feeling in any realm. He glanced over his shoulder once, breaking out of this Zitao’s grip, his fist connecting with the guy’s chin as tears kept running down his cheeks. He held Zitao’s tiny neck in his hands.

The energy was building up in his body, ready to be released. The others watched with eyes wide open as he changed, his hair turning blond on one side and black on the other.

His awakening.

Along with all this energy, Jongin was also starting to feel anger.

Anger because he was tired of what they were doing to him, because Kyungsoo didn’t deserve any of this either, and he would make sure Kyungsoo wouldn’t have to go through this at all, even if that’s the last thing Jongin ever had to do.

Even if this becomes his last life.

Jongin glared at him, this was the first time this virtue was ever sent to kill him and looks like it would be his last mission ever. With all the energy rushing to his hands as the other gasped for air, and a bright white light illuminating the dark alley, within the blink of an eye he was gone. No body, not even the ashes, nothing. He was _gone_.

The other two just stared in shock as Jongin turned around to face them. He saw the moment they realized what was going on, the moment they realized who he was and what he was. Jongin walked over, aware of Kyungsoo’s eyes on him, aware of the fear in their eyes as he got closer.

They should be afraid.

Luhan took a step back and Yifan added pressure on Kyungsoo’s body, making him scream in pain.

“If you get any closer, I’ll kill him,” Yifan said. His voice didn’t match the desperation on his face. Luhan didn’t say anything.

Before they could even notice, Jongin was standing right in front of Yifan, lifting him up and away from Kyungsoo who took a deep breath the moment he didn’t have the other over him.

“You don’t know me,” were Jongin’s only words before another bright light engulfed Yifan, and then he had also vanished into thin air, nothing left behind to tell the story of his life except the faint scream that was starting to pour out of his lips before he was gone. Luhan of course wasn’t like the other two, he was brave enough to try to escape, displaying his white wings as he aimed for the sky. Jongin looked down at Kyungsoo. “I’ll be right back.”

It had been a while since Jongin used his wings, pulling them out, he heard the moment Kyungsoo gasped. A white wing and a black wing in full display before Jongin chased after him, soon catching on, his hand grasping one of Luhan’s wings. Jongin pulled him back bringing him close.

“I’ll let you live, only because I need you to deliver a message. Tell whoever sent you that things have changed. Tell them I’m the humility virtue, but also I’m the pride sin,” Jongin’s voice was as cold as his eyes as he spoke. “Tell them… _not this time_ ,” he let go of him and Luhan took no time in putting space between them, flying away.

When Jongin made it back to where Kyungsoo was, Sehun and Baekhyun were already there, more than likely drawn in by the exhibition of energy. They were helping Kyungsoo sit, asking him questions when they noticed Jongin’s presence. Their eyes widened when they saw him, especially because they had never seen him like this ever before.

They had never seen this side of him.

Jongin would have to explain everything to them, to all of them, but Kyungsoo came first. He kneeled in front of him, there were several cuts and bruises on his face, but he was okay. He was alive.

“Welcome back,” Kyungsoo whispered, making Jongin smile. He knew he had to be grateful to have people that cared this much for him, that tried to protect him for thousands of years, and regardless of how many times they failed, they always waited for him.

Kyungsoo always loved him no matter what.

“It’s good to be back,” Jongin reached out to hold Kyungsoo’s hand and the familiar wave of electricity that he felt was very welcomed. It was the way their souls recognized each other, after so many years, just finally finding each other again. Jongin wanted to say so many things, just three words standing out more than the others.

Words that he also wanted to hear so badly.


	12. Three words, eight letters

It had been a while since he felt like this, just completely at peace and warm. The light of a new day peeking through his windows, illuminating the room. Jongin felt movement next to him, making him turn and smile at the sight in front of him. Jongin couldn’t believe he thought Kyungsoo was a creep, well if he was being honest, he could believe it, but it felt so silly after getting his memories back. Kyungsoo who tried to protect him since the beginning of time. Kyungsoo who loved him like nobody else.

His Kyungsoo.

The one he would love until the end of time.

Jongin brushed the hair out of Kyungsoo’s forehead, he was still asleep after last night’s events. Yixing did a great job in healing him but they had fought three virtues, there was no way it wouldn’t affect him. Also, Kyungsoo loved to sleep in, which is something Jongin was so happy he could remember. Right now, having Kyungsoo wrapped all over him and embracing him as well, Jongin truly felt happy.

He felt good.

He knew this wouldn’t last forever, he still had a lot of explaining to do, not only to Kyungsoo but to the rest of them. This was a secret he had been keeping for thousands of years, not because he didn’t trust them, but because he just couldn’t tell anyone until it happened.

Until he finally unlocked all his powers.

Kyungsoo moved around again and Jongin knew he would be awake soon, the way he stretched into him, a big yawn escaping his lips before his eyes finally fluttered open, his stare landing on Jongin’s. There was relief running through Jongin’s body when the other smiled so brightly upon seeing him. Their bond wasn’t something that could be broken with time, but everything seemed so complicated now.

“Good morning,” Jongin greeted, he hadn’t realized he was smiling until Kyungsoo leaned in and kissed him.

And what a great kiss that was.

It was the first kiss they ever shared in this life, the first kiss they shared in so many years since the last time Jongin had his memories. It was sweet, impatient, hungry, gentle, and everything a kiss should be. Jongin had goosebumps crawling over his skin and Kyungsoo sighed into the kiss, both feeling pure bliss because they were finally really touching each other.

When Jongin pulled back for air, Kyungsoo chased his lips, locking them together once again.

“I like your way of saying good morning,” Jongin giggled into Kyungsoo’s lips and the other smiled, kissing the corner of Jongin’s mouth, his chin, his neck. “The guys will be here soon.”

Kyungsoo sighed. “Does that mean I have to wait longer?”

“Technically yes,” Jongin chuckled, leaning back to look at him properly. “I missed you.”

And it was true, deep down, Jongin’s soul had missed him.

“I missed you too,” Kyungsoo whispered, capturing the other’s lips once again. Jongin had a feeling this would go on for a while until they had to get up to receive the others. Jongin had insisted on using his apartment to let Kyungsoo rest, and that way they would get the privacy they wanted for at least a few hours.

Kyungsoo attacked Jongin’s neck and what started as a laugh coming out of Jongin’s throat ended as a pleased gasp.

“Well, maybe if we’re quick,” Jongin sighed, knowing he would give in sooner or later.

“Just this once, you know I don’t like to be rushed,” Kyungsoo protested, making Jongin laugh.

“Ah, yes… I remember.”

…

Eight expectant faces were looking at Jongin, of course, he didn’t expect any less. When Baekhyun, Sehun, and Yixing left the night before Jongin knew they would tell the others what they saw. He knew he would have to explain sooner or later, he just never knew when that time would come.

At this point, he was sure he would never get his sin powers.

Jongin sighed as he sat down on the couch, looking at them, it reminded him of their latest welcome back party. He smiled to break the ice a little and Kyungsoo went over to hold his hand. Jongin loved him a little more.

“I’m sure you all know by now, about last night’s events,” Jongin didn’t know how to begin to explain.

“You got your memory back,” Junmyeon said, and of course he would be leading the conversation, Junmyeon felt more like a leader than Jongin ever did.

“I did,”

“And you got… new powers?” Junmyeon glanced at Sehun and Baekhyun who were so tense that Jongin was sure they would break any second.

“They are but at the same time they’re not new,” Jongin squeezed Kyungsoo’s hand, taking a deep breath. “My mother was a heaven angel which is where I get my virtue, and my father was a fallen angel, which also gives me a sin,” his words are slow-paced and careful. “You could say I was born instead of created because somehow my parents were… in love.”

He received nothing but silence all over his living room. Jongin knew it was a lot to take in, even the mere thought of the two angels mixing was way more than taboo for their kind, it was forbidden. Jongin wasn’t supposed to exist.

“When I was born, my mother locked my Sin side so I could pass as a regular virtue while the war was happening, however without the mortal genes I exceeded their expectations, once I was properly trained they made me a leader because of this.” 

“But you never unlocked your powers before? Ever?” Yixing asked.

“I could only unlock my powers after turning eighteen, so it makes me believe that they know this since they’ve been killing me at age seventeen all these years.” Jongin shrugged. “They were a year late this time. I’m not sure if it was a mistake or not.”

“And what does that mean for you?” Baekhyun’s voice was so low, Jongin smiled.

“It means that now…,” Jongin looked at Kyungsoo. “They’re going to have an extremely hard time killing me. Not just anybody can fulfill that task.”

“So, you will stay this time…,” There was so much hope in Kyungsoo’s voice, so much love that Jongin didn’t want to break. He wanted to take care of it for the rest of his existence.

“It’s possible, doesn’t mean they won’t keep trying.”

“We’ll be here when they do,” Junmyeon had nothing but determination in his eyes, Jongin appreciated that. “If this is the deal then, this time we’re stronger.”

Jongin smiled. “Thank you.”

“So… you’re Cruella de Vil now?” Sehun spoke for the first time, pointing at Jongin’s half black, half blond hair.

“You could say so,” he leaned into Kyungsoo’s shoulder, feeling happy.

“This calls for celebration,” Baekhyun clapped, standing up from the couch and looking around. “Let’s celebrate at the red cube.”

“Love the new name by the way,” Jongin informed. Their business had gone through several transformations and names over the years.

“I know right?! We won five over three against _Pretty Sins_ ,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Jongin laughed.

“This is why we needed you when we voted,” Sehun also stood up, pushing Baekhyun back down. “I say we close it so we can have it to ourselves.”

“Alright, we’ll handle the celebration and we’ll let you two have some more bonding time,” Junmyeon imitated Sehun, glancing at the others so they would do the same. Jongin felt the heat rushing to his cheeks but he didn’t say a word. He needed that alone time with Kyungsoo. They both did.

After everyone left, the one thing Jongin appreciated the most was being able to feel Kyungsoo’s arms around him. He chuckled as he remembered how he had thought of him as a creepy guy. Kyungsoo had worked hard to keep him safe and it didn’t matter how many times he died, Jongin was always grateful.

Jongin sighed in pure bliss as he wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo as well. It felt right to be like that, the only home Jongin would ever have.

“Last night…,” Kyungsoo whispered. He pressed a soft kiss on the top of Jongin’s head before he continued. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared before. We had barely just found you, compared to other times, you didn’t have your memories and I just thought for a moment that maybe it would be over if I died with you.”

Jongin looked up at him, frowning. “Don’t say that. What’s going to happen when I come back, and you don’t?”

“Maybe it would be better that way,” Kyungsoo’s eyes were suddenly troubled. Jongin saw the pain inside them, of course, he would be tired of watching Jongin die over and over, but to Jongin, the fact that he could come back and Kyungsoo would be there was what made him pull through all those years. He didn’t want to be reborn in a world that didn’t have Kyungsoo.

“It wouldn’t,” Jongin ran a hand through the other’s hair, kissing his chin carefully. “I’m not afraid of dying, I’ve done that a few times already. I am afraid of losing you.”

None of them said anything for a moment, communicating with their eyes instead. There was as much pain as there was love of course, but neither of them had any doubt that if things went right for them then they would be able to get through it together.

Because that was all they needed.

…

As promised the bar was empty. No customers other than them to fill the space and that’s how they preferred this celebration to go. Jongin and Kyungsoo arrived past eight and the rest of them were already drinking and eating without them. Baekhyun quickly occupied the spot next to Jongin, linking arms with him.

“I guess we should now tell you everything Kyungsoo has been up to these past few years you haven’t been around.” Baekhyun wasn’t one to drink often, however, when he did just a few glasses did the trick for him.

“I think I have an idea of what that was.” Jongin laughed, patting Baekhyun’s arm. Kyungsoo on the other hand just glared at his friends as if trying to tell them to keep their mouths shut.

Sehun had a playful smile when he leaned forward over the table. “I have a complete list.”

“Sehun, do you want to end up with a few broken bones?” Kyungsoo threatened. They all knew he was strong enough to do that.

“Jongin will protect me,” Sehun replied, sticking his tongue out. Jongin laughed at them.

“It’s fine, I don’t expect him to be a saint when I’m not around,” he held Kyungsoo’s hand under the table. “I’m the only one that has his heart even when other people may have other things.”

“That’s not fun… Chanyeol a little help here,” Sehun said and Chanyeol shook his head, downing the rest of his glass.

“You’re on your own,” he responded, wrapping an arm around Baekhyun, and ignoring Sehun. Jongin laughed again, watching Sehun pout and sit back on his chair completely defeated.

Jongin looked around his group of friends. He watched them laugh and tease each other and drink and be as loud as they always were, nothing had changed and Jongin felt so happy to see that. This group of virtues and sins would have his back no matter what happened, and he knew even when their problem was far from over, even when his days may be counted on this earth…

He would still have great friends that would wait for him on the other side.

And an even greater love that would love him no matter how many years went by.

Jongin leaned in to kiss Kyungsoo’s cheek, the other turned to look at him and smiled when Jongin leaned in again to kiss his lips. It wasn’t just any smile; it was the smile he had reserved for him only. A smile he had seen on every previous life, whenever they met again.

A smile he saw the very first time they met.

A smile he would give his life to protect.

“I love you,” Jongin said. He felt good by finally being able to say this again, especially with the way Kyungsoo’s eyes sparkled when he heard it.

“I love you,” Kyungsoo said, and that was the greatest thing he could ever hear as well.

_Those three words and eight letters._


End file.
